Oakland Raiders Release Matt Schaub

Nov 30, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub (8) is sacked by St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis defeated Oakland 52-0. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

After weeks of waiting, the Oakland Raiders mercifully ended the Matt Schaub era in Oakland when the cut the highly paid veteran backup quarterback to shed $5.5 million in cap space as the team no longer had a use for a player who at one point was traded for to be the veteran starter for the franchise.

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It was announced on Monday afternoon that the move would be official, ending weeks of speculation over the future of Schaub. Despite the move being an inevitable one, the Raiders waited until after the first week of free agency to make the decision final, forced to shed cap on the veteran even if he served as a mentor to rookie quarterback Derek Carr while filling a role as a kick holder of Sebastian Janikowski.

However when the team signed Christian Ponder to fill the need for a veteran in case of emergency the writing was on the wall for Schaub, who was cut quickly after the weekend with the former Minnesota Viking locked in to fill the void he would leave once released.

Schaub’s career in Oakland was an afterthought for one season, failing to bounce back with a 57 yard, two interception season as the Raiders ran with rookie Derek Carr as their starter for the entirety of the 2014 season save for garbage time duty for the backup in the tail end of blowout games.

Despite the trade for Schaub being a failure, the player himself accepted a role as a mentor and a placeholder for kicks after the decision was made to start Carr after the preseason. A decision that came after Carr earned the job following Schaub’s preseason struggles and reported tendinitis in his throwing elbow that gave him problems. Brother of Derek, Darren Carr tweeted his support for Schaub on Monday afternoon. Thanking the veteran for teaching Derek valuable lessons over the course of the 2014 season where the rookie grew with every game as Schaub held a clipboard and provided teaching support from the sidelines.

The next step for Schaub is unknown, but his absence for the Raiders will leave a hole on special teams as Christian Ponder did not hold for field goals or kick attempts while in Minnesota. In 2013 Marquette King held the field goals for Janikowski unsuccessfully, so the Raiders will be back to the drawing board in finding the right partnership for SeaBass.

However not saving $5.5 million in cap space was not an option even if Schaub was valuable in a small role, making his career an early ending one in Oakland. Expect the former Falcons, Texans and now Raiders quarterback to find himself on a training camp roster even if his days of being a highly paid quarterback in the league are now officially behind him as Oakland have washed their hands with an expensive contract that they had no choice but to drop.