Oakland Raiders: Making The Right Free Agency Moves
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
It’s no secret, the NFL kicked off the 2014 season with the start of Free Agency on March 11th. The Oakland Raiders topped the list of teams with a plethora of Cap space. Of course, this opened the door for the knucklehead pundits to start placing every move made by Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie under a microscope. As if we, the fans, weren’t already analyzing every move made by our team, the pundits felt it necessary to downplay and even slander every move made by McKenzie. Apparently, the NFL Network needed some publicity and page views on their website, because they called upon their Raider Haters to write ignorant and totally biased articles that slandered the Oakland Raiders free agent signings.
September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams tackle Rodger Saffold (76) is checked out by a trainer after being injured on a play against the Washington Redskins during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Rodger Saffold deal didn’t help matters, but I believe that the Raiders made the right move by not overpaying for a Tackle that would require surgery. Of course Rodger Saffold’s Agent and the St. Louis Rams are going to downplay his injury and make it sound as though the Raiders made a mistake. They don’t want their fans to think they made a boneheaded move, would you?
Instead, they too jumped on the “kick the Raiders while they’re down” bandwagon. In any event, the Raiders don’t have to wait for Saffold to get onto the field in the Pre-Season. I don’t believe that Raiders Owner Mark Davis wanted to have another dead beat player milking the organization for money while he sits on an injury. The Raiders, and the fans, want players who want to play, and players who will help the organization win. This is why the move was made.