Give Darren McFadden the Ball

Oct 26, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) runs against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns beat the Raiders 23-13. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

See What They Have

McFadden is a game-changer when healthy so let’s give him a chance to change games and see if he can stay healthy while doing so. The Raiders are in transition while McFadden is with them on a 1-year deal so they should see what they have in him. The New Orleans Saints let Reggie Bush go and he stayed healthy enough to get with 15 yards of 3-straight 1,000-yard seasons.

So after seeing what he did to change the Raiders fortunes in 2010 and 2011, let’s see what he can do with the team now. All of his talents are still there and then some so they should use the rest of the season to evaluate him and see if he can stay healthy. Then the Raiders will know if they need to go to re-sign him or let McFadden walk at the end of the season.

He’s certainly not washed up as running backs usually get to that point when they reach the 2,000 carry mark of their career. But McFadden is only 27 years old and has only 985 career carries so he’ll reach the halfway mark in the next game or so. So a 3-year deal would be in order for McFadden if he stays healthy and runs like we know he can the rest of the year.