Oakland Raiders: Out With The Old and In With The New

Dec 8, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie and owner Mark Davis on the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

It must be that I’m not built for the whole “Drama” aspect of reporting or sports blogging, because I have to admit that I am sick and tired of hearing about Jared Veldheer and Lamarr Houston.  I’ve always been pretty good about moving forward and on with my life, even when the bad things happen.  I don’t dwell on the past, so why do I keep hearing about Veldheer and Houston?

This all stemmed from the NFL Owner’s meeting in Florida.  Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie was interviewed by the press and asked about the losses of both Veldheer and Houston.  McKenzie said that he hated losing his players to free agency, but he wasn’t willing to pay the amount of money needed for the Franchise Tag/Transition Tag.  When asked specifically about Veldheer, McKenzie’s response was, “The kid didn’t want to play for the Raiders anymore, and I struggled with that.”

Jared Veldheer was recently interviewed on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, and he told the broadcasters, “It’s not that I didn’t want to be there (Oakland)… A deal didn’t get done at the table and that led to free agency.”

What are we, Raider Nation, to believe?  I guess whatever we want.  Sure there are those that will side with Veldheer and Houston, and others will side with McKenzie.  In the end, the players are still gone and both sides have moved on.  It’s time that Raider Nation do the same, move on.

The culture is changing in Oakland, and the change caused the loss of a couple of decent players.  One was arguably better than the other, Veldheer was better than Houston, but they are both gone.  There are new players in town to make the Raiders a better team, and we, Raider Nation, should be embracing and supporting them.  So let’s get behind the players on the current roster, and we can drop the decayed discussion about players the Raiders have lost.

Out with the old and in with the new!