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If Al Davis were still around you know the media would be having a field day with this one. All we’d see are headlines alluding to the weird business practices in Oakland.

Truth be told, this is one situation that even a diehard Raider apologist such as myself would be hard pressed to argue.

The Raiders had a very minimal draft in 2012 with their first pick not occurring until the very end of the third round. Still, it wasn’t until yesterday that Tony Bergstrom actually agreed to terms with the Silver and Black. Bergstrom will arrive on time and so too will Criner at least that’s what Vic Tafur of the Chronicle has Tweeted.

It would be shocking – and a bit embarrassing for Reggie McKenzie – if Criner missed any portion of camp. It’s not like we’re talking about a contentious contract situation. Fifth round draft picks have nothing to negotiate. Some of the delay can be attributed to the Raiders cap constraints. Either way it would be a real surprise if the entire 2012 draft class isn’t practicing in Napa on Monday.

Just days before the first practice of the Dennis Allen era it’s being reported that Bergstrom and the Raiders have reached terms on a deal. Bergstrom is expected to push veteran guard Cooper Carlisle for a starting job on the left side of the line.

That it took this long to ink a third round pick is a little perplexing which makes 5^th round selection Juron Criner’s status as unsigned even more disconcerting. As you would expect Criner’s agent and the Raiders are talking but nothing guarantees he’ll be signed in time to participate in the team’s first official practice of training camp.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

the Reggie McKenzie era begins. There is no reason to think the Raiders won’t have their full compliment of players currently on the roster. However the fact of the matter remains that rookies Tony Bergstrom and Juron Criner are still unsigned.

Obviously McKenzie needed the cap relief offered by Tyvon Branch’s new deal in order to free up some cash. Prior to Branch putting pen to paper on his contract the Raiders were reported to be somewhere in the $1-million neighborhood as far as cap room goes.

With Branch foregoing the franchise tag and the salary that comes with it for a more cap friendly salary in 2012 the Raiders are said to have something in the $5-million range in cap room. That’s more than enough to get Bergstrom and Criner in camp on time. Bergstrom might have been Oakland’s top pick but he went 95^th overall so it’s not like we’re talking about some contentious contract situation. Same goes for Criner who was picked 168^th overall.

Even before the NFL instituted a rookie wage scale the Raiders were typically able to get their entire draft class under contract and in camp on time (#2’s hideous holdout notwithstanding). Even though this is a new regime in Oakland with different spending philosophies the odds of the team entering camp without its entire draft class signed and sealed are long.