Andre Holmes Signs RFA Tender With Raiders

While the Oakland Raiders are considering beefing up their ranks at the wide receiver position, one current wideout on the roster signed his restricted free agent tender to remain with the team early this week. Andre Holmes putting pen to paper to stick with the Raiders, a top wideout on the depth chart from the 2014 season staying in Oakland for another season to pair with quarterback Derek Carr.

More from Las Vegas Raiders News

• Raiders news: Free agent TE Foster Moreau diagnosed with cancer
• Las Vegas Raiders: 2023 NFL Draft will make-or-break David Ziegler Era
• Raiders news: Jimmy Garoppolo offered a different kind of deal
• Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Trading down for an elite DT on Day 1
• Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Will David Ziegler trade his top-2 picks again?

Holmes was given a low RFA tender back in March, something that led to concern as teams were able to snag the wideout for low cost with no draft picks given up for the player if a front office had signed him to an offer sheet, but ultimately no other teams decided that they would poach Holmes from Oakland and the worry about not being able to retain him left the minds of Raiders fans who view the tall wideout as a strong role player on the roster.

ESPN’s Bill Williamson reported on Monday night that Holmes signed his RFA tender to make it official that he would be sticking around in Oakland, something that will keep continuity at the wide receiver position that has the majority of the key names from last season intact for 2015. Lower depth chart players Vincent Brown and Denarius Moore the only wideouts of significance that have left Oakland this offseason.

Williamson also reported that Holmes staying in Oakland will have little impact on the Raiders current negotiations with Michael Crabtree, unsurprising considering that general manager Reggie McKenzie likely assumed that Holmes would be coming back to the team after nobody else signed him to an offer sheet back in March.

Holmes will remain a player who is a solid contributor to the Raiders aerial attack, but not a player who will become a superstar at wide receiver. Two years of steady production, mostly on big plays as a high impact playmaker, has made Holmes a player that has the respect of Raiders fans even if he can be a bit of a frustration at times. Particularly when he drops passes, something that is the biggest flaw in Holmes’ game as a wideout who isn’t the most secure with the football when it hits his hands at times. If Holmes can work on making the most of his targets in 2015 he will continue to be a player who can bring 500+ yards to the receiving group, a key factor in the Raiders offense becoming more successful this season.

Regardless of future improvement, Holmes staying in Oakland is a very positive step in the Raiders improving at receiver if they can ink Crabtree and bring in one or two talented young players through the 2015 NFL Draft. Outside of Rod Streater, Holmes is probably the brightest young talent on the Raiders roster at wideout, which made it of great importance that he wasn’t stolen away via an offer sheet from another team. Now that the worst case scenario did not happen, the Raiders can focus on adding to the talents of Holmes and company at receiver. Something the team is guaranteed to do as building on the valuable production they get from current players like Holmes will be the key to offensive success in Oakland in 2015.