Is Osemele The AFC West's Best Newcomer?
- Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com writes that Raiders guard Kelechi Osemele might stand as the best “fit” signing of the offseason. Osemele offers a powerful presence in the run game and should help hold up the pocket for quarterback Derek Carr. In addition to his dominant resume, Osemele also offers versatility as he can play at either tackle or guard and offers experience on both sides of the line. Although he has been slowed a little by injuries in recent years, missing multiple games in each of the last three seasons, Osemele has been a reliable performer on Baltimore’s line. Pro Football Focus ranked him 18th out of 77 qualified tackles in 2015, giving him the second-highest run-blocking grade at the position.
July A Big Month For Raiders' Vegas Future
This month will go a long way toward determining whether or not Las Vegas becomes the Raiders‘ new home. The Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee will meet again on Monday for further discussion on a proposed $1.45 billion stadium.
A July 28 deadline looms for the city to finalize funding plans for a future Raiders stadium, and Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets the city will meet that deadline and come up with a stadium financing arrangement, noting “a lot of” behind-the-scenes action is occurring to move this process forward.
We last heard the SNTIC and the developers’ hopes at how much public money will be used in financing this stadium remain incongruent. But with Oakland far behind Vegas in this process and Mark Davis previously pledging he’d move the Raiders to Nevada — albeit without certainty he’d receive the 24 votes necessary from his fellow owners — an potentially unprecedented opportunity exists for the city to acquire an NFL franchise.
Bruce Irvin On Khalil Mack
- Big-money Raiders acquisition Bruce Irvin expects to reap the benefits of playing with superstar defensive end Khalil Mack, the ex-Seahawks linebacker told Eddie Paskal of the team’s website. “I think me being on the other side of him, I’m going to benefit a lot and get one-on-one situations, and I have to win those matchups.” That’s presumably why the Raiders awarded $19MM in guarantees to Irvin, who totaled 22 sacks in his four-year tenure in Seattle. Mack picked up 15 on his own in 2015, which was only his second season, but no other Raider had more than four. “He’s just a freak, man,” Irvin said of Mack. “He can play the run. He can rush. He can do all types of stuff, [he’s] the kind of guy you want to play with.” Mack ranked ahead of Von Miller as Pro Football Focus’ best edge defender last season and earned even higher marks as a run defender than as a pass rusher. Mack’s grade against the run (96.3) was far and away tops among edge defenders last year.
City Of Oakland Taking Stadium Bids
- The city of Oakland is taking bids for a new stadium, reports Zennie Abraham (Twitter link via Jason Cole of Bleacher Report). The Raiders – who are angling for Las Vegas relocation – find Oakland’s action odd because the city’s taking bids without having discussed anything with the team, per Abraham.
Mark Davis Wanted Derek Carr At No. 5 In '14
- Although the Raiders ended up with both Khalil Mack and Derek Carr in the 2014 draft, Mark Davis pushed the front office to select Carr with the No. 5 overall pick that became Mack, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recalls. Carr ended up going at No. 36, with Reggie McKenzie and Co.’s decision allowing them to land one of the game’s best players in Mack.
Scouting Director: Bruce Irvin Should Play DE
- The Raiders remain strongly tied to Vegas, and news on the Oakland front has been scant to this point. However, Bonsignore tweets Mark Davis has talked with a developmental group led by Ronnie Lott that’s attempting a last-ditch stadium solution in the Bay Area. The Los Angeles-based reporter, though, notes such discussions look superfluous since they don’t solve the issues the team is having with the city and county.
- On the field, the Raiders look to present a more diverse pass rush than what they deployed last season. Bruce Irvin‘s signing gives Khalil Mack a complementary presence, and an NFC scouting director told TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer the best course of action for the Raiders is to move Irvin into a primary pass-rushing role at defensive end much like they did Mack in 2015. “His most productive NFL season came as a rookie, when he rushed from a three-point stance. Playing opposite Khalil Mack, he’d see a lot of one-on-one matchups he can win [if they use him as an end].” The Raiders use a hybrid 4-3/3-4 scheme, and Breer adds the suspicion is that DC Ken Norton — familiar with Irvin after serving as the Seahawks’ linebackers coach from 2010-14 — will transition the free agent acquisition to being predominantly a defensive end. Irvin registered a career-high eight sacks in 2012.
Raiders Rumors: Vegas, Jackson, CBs
Mark Davis would need 24 votes from his fellow owners to green-light a Las Vegas move, but Vincent Bonsignore of the Orange County Register notes motivation exists within the NFL to agree to this move thanks to myriad circumstances.
The Rams preferring to keep the Los Angeles market for themselves and this week’s California State Supreme Court ruling making a Chargers’ long-term stadium hopes much less likely provide clarity on multiple fronts for a Raiders-to-Vegas venture. It would give the Chargers, who loom as a fringe Vegas option, a clear choice between San Diego or Los Angeles and allow for precise negotiations between the team and its current city without the Raiders complicating their push for L.A. by remaining in that mix. Although Vegas is now Davis’ front-burner option, his team still sits behind the Chargers in the Los Angeles pecking order.
Sources also informed Bonsignore the prospect of a second Los Angeles franchise remains preferable to the league, if only for the purposes of it forcing action on other cities to build stadiums, mentioning the Bills, Jaguars and Saints as those who could use Los Angeles as leverage.
Here’s more on Las Vegas, as well as the latest from around the league.
- While the Raiders and the prospective developers did not like what came out of the Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee’s meeting last week — one that calls for $550MM in public funds to be raised for the proposed $1.45 billion stadium — all parties are optimistic a deal will be reached by the time a financing plan needs to be submitted to Nevada governor Brian Sandoval later this month, Bonsignore reports. “We are nearing the end of this process, but we certainly have [four] more weeks in order to resolve any differences we have,” said SNTIC chairman Steve Hill, via Bonsignore. “And it’s my sense, and most will agree, that everyone involved in this conversation is trying to work to make [the stadium project] happen.” The SNTIC will meet again on July 11 and later on July 28 to attempt to wrap up this plan.
- Kelechi Osemele‘s arrival will slide Gabe Jackson from left to right guard, a position the promising third-year performer hasn’t played since college, Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com notes. On the strength of his pass-blocking, Jackson rated as Pro Football Focus’ No. 13 overall guard last season.
- D.J. Hayden and T.J. Carrie are the primary competitors for Oakland’s slot cornerback job, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Sean Smith and David Amerson are expected to start. Hayden spent the most time working there during offseason workouts, but the Raiders did not pick up the 2013 first-rounder’s fifth-year option after a thus-far-underwhelming career. Carrie, who started 14 games last season, possesses more physicality for the role in Bair’s mind, however. After the team moved Keith McGill to safety, Neiko Thorpe resides as the most experienced challenger for slot duty.
- Raiders third-round rookie Shilique Calhoun is also learning a new position.
Raiders’ Vegas Interest Continues; Chargers An Option?
With potential Las Vegas relocation looming for the Raiders, owner Mark Davis has visited the city “a half-dozen times the last six or eight weeks,” Las Vegas Sands Corp. senior vice president Ron Reese said Thursday (per A.J. Perez of USA Today). Not surprisingly, then, Reese went on to classify the Raiders’ interest in Vegas as “serious.”
Reese’s boss, Sands CEO and chairman Sheldon Adelson, has proposed a $1.45 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium that would require $750MM in taxpayer money.
On Adelson’s stadium plan, Reese stated, “It’s a major investment. The NFL has expressed a strong desire for a public-private partnership. Our organization is taking the lead, working with the Raiders to create public-private support for this.”
Unfortunately for Adelson and the Raiders, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is among multiple politicians opposed to $750MM in taxpayer money going toward a stadium and would rather the number drop by at least $200MM, a source told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Sandoval has the authority to call a special session of the Nevada legislature, which could take place later this summer and determine the fate of the stadium, writes Florio.
It’s unclear if the Raiders would willingly head to Las Vegas with $550MM in public money funding a stadium instead of $750MM. If they’re not amenable to it, the Chargers – who aren’t making progress in their quest to land a new facility in San Diego – could become the answer for the city at $550MM, according to Florio, who expects either the Raiders or Bolts to ultimately end up in Vegas for less than $750MM. It’s possible, then, that Nevada could become a second viable non-San Diego option for the Chargers, who have until Jan. 15, 2017, to partner with the Rams in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raiders Gauging Interest From Vegas Residents
- The Raiders have sent out an 83-question survey through the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to 10,000-plus addresses in the chamber’s database, reports Richard N. Velotta of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Subjects center on such matters as interest in the team and stadium seating preferences, writes Velotta, who adds that stadium financing questions aren’t included. The proposed 65,000-seat, $1.45 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas calls for $750MM in taxpayer money, a record amount.
Shilique Calhoun To Play Linebacker
- Former Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun was one of the more productive defensive players available in the 2016 draft, but the Raiders will be asking the third-round pick to man a different position in the NFL, as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes that Calhoun will play rush linebacker in Oakland’s 4-3 scheme. “I’ve been playing a little bit of everything,” Calhoun told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’ve been moving around, but I’m mainly at (strongside linebacker) and the LEO. I’m trying to learn those two positions and master them behind two great players in Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin.” The Raiders have been more than willing to move players around the defense, and Mack is Exhibit A, as he infamously made the All-Pro Team at both end and linebacker.