Oakland Raiders to Meet With Michael Crabtree
By Chase Ruttig
November 27, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) looks at San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) during the third quarter at Levi
After passing on wide receivers for all of March, the Oakland Raiders will be getting a visit from one of the few big names left in 2015 NFL Free Agency next week in an attempt to bring on a proven talent to give starting quarterback Derek Carr another weapon for next season. A receiver who will cause conflicting opinions amongst Raider Nation as well as the front office will be taking a look at a player who once had harsh things to say about the franchise that passed him over in the draft for Darrius Heyward-Bey in 2009.
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The Raiders will be taking a hard look at Michael Crabtree, the man who laughed on camera when Al Davis took DHB in one of the most famous draft busts of the last decade. A move that may anger some fans of the team who have not gotten over the reaction of Crabtree once he was passed over by Oakland.
According to the reports coming out on Good Friday, owner Mark Davis as well as the front office have gotten over a young Crabtree’s reaction to not being drafted in Oakland, enough that the former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver will be coming to talk with the team and potentially even signing with the Raiders next week.
Fans will not like the idea of Crabtree joining the team, but the fact of the matter is that the former Niners receiver is the best option left for the Raiders after ignoring the position early in free agency. Passing on trades for players like Brandon Marshall and Mike Wallace, the Raiders didn’t make any moves on the secondary market either for the likes of Torrey Smith and are now in a position where a player like Crabtree would be one of few impact moves that could be made in April via free agency.
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Crabtree, like most Niners wideouts, suffered during the drama of the 2014 season in San Francisco, but still is good enough to be an instant improvement at wide receiver in Oakland. Players like Rod Streater and Andre Holmes are on Crabtree’s level, but adding the veteran would give the depth needed at the position for it to become a strength rather than what was a weakness on offense last year.
For a team that brought in Vincent Brown and Kenbrell Thompkins during the 2014 season, a move to bring in Crabtree is definitely something that would improve the team. Something that overrides anything that Crabtree said or did during the 2009 Draft drama when he was passed over by the Raiders. It may not be popular, but the interest in Crabtree from the front office is a definite positive rather than a negative.