Oakland Raiders Free Agency: Who Stays? Who Goes?
Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Oakland Raiders receiver Rod Streater (80) celebrates after scoring on a 12-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Wide Receiver
I’ve talked in depth about the number of wide receivers who may be coming to the Silver and Black in 2015, but who has to go in order to make room for the new talent?
Starting with a player who has frustrated me from the day he first suited up for the Raiders. In Denarius Moore, all I saw was a powder keg of potential. Here’s a kid who had break away speed for days, a 3 foot vertical leap, and who was suppose to have some of the best hands on the team. It became all too apparent that you just never knew what Denarious Moore would show up on game day. One week he’s making some of most spectacular catches a receiver could make, the next he’s dropping passes with no one around him. I think Moore has run his course as a Raider, I think if he can get picked up on team who already has a solid number one in place, he could do some damage as a number 2 receiver, but in Oakland that just is never happening.
Vincent Brown was picked early in the season off of waivers from San Diego. Brown got hit by the injury bug in San Diego, preventing him to really be able to showcase his talents in the pass happy Chargers offense. From the little we saw from him, I think he’s got a lot of potential. A real off season with Derek Carr; he could mature into a very solid receiver. It took Brown a little while to get the system down, and the time he did see on the field he was pretty efficient. He had no dropped passes, and was very productive in the intermediate rout depth over the middle and on the right sideline. Possibly the replacement to James Jones when his career comes to an end. I say, give Brown a full off season and training camp with Derek and see how he develops.
Rod Streater and Andre Holmes are both Restricted Free Agents this year. What does that mean? For those of you who don’t know, the simplest answer is the Raiders can put a caveat that goes along with the player, typically a draft pick that any team who wants to sign the player would have to award to the Raiders. Plus, the Raiders would have a chance to match or beat any financial offer from another team before the player can sign to another team.
Restricted Free Agents are great bargaining chips for GMs if they are a hot commodity. Had Rod Streater not got injured, or had Holmes had a break out season, Reggie would have a lot to bargain with between the two of them. Streater’s injury was unfortunate, I expect him to be back next season. Holmes on the other hand, may not have had a spectacular season, but he did show flashes of greatness.
Holmes ranked toward the bottom of the class overall as a wide receiver, coming in at 91st according to Pro Football Focus, but on deep passes over 20 yards, his numbers sky rocket up to 34th in the league. Just a few spots behind coveted free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, and nipping on the heels of Brandon Marshall. The wide receiver class coming into the draft this year is not expected to be as stellar as 2013. Some teams may be wanting to upgrade their number 2 wide receiver position with a solid deep threat receiver, who is still young and has been tested and proven at the NFL level.
Reggie could put a caveat of as much as a 2nd round pick to go with Holmes. This could be monumental to the future of the Raiders. An extra 2nd round pick would open up any number of options for them in 2015. Now, will that happen? I highly doubt it. Holmes did turn some heads last year, but I don’t think he made that big of a splash. Assuming Reggie adds another receiver in either Free Agency or the Draft, Streater and Holmes will be valuable compliments to who ever the new receiver is.
Decision:
Moore = Cut
Brown = Keep
Streater = Keep
Holmes = Look for a deal, Keep for cheap
Next: Tight Ends Offensive Line