Oakland Raiders: Don’t panic over missing out on Eric Weddle

Why the Oakland Raiders missing out on Eric Weddle isn’t a big deal, and what other options remain for the team to fill their need at Safety.

Free agent Safety Eric Weddle is signing a 4-year, $29M deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

With a need at the position and plenty of cap space to boot, the Oakland Raiders were long thought of as a suitor for Weddle, if not the favorite.

The narrative being spun was that Weddle could play against his former team twice per year, with a hated division rival, as payback for how poorly he was treated as his tenure in San Diego came to a close.

Also, Weddle could satisfy his interest in playing for a contender. While that may be too rich of a word at this point in time for Oakland, there is no doubt that the team is trending in the right direction, and could be a true contender in the near future. That would have been even more so the case had Weddle joined the fold.

Ultimately, it seems like the interest in Weddle was generated more through the fanbase than from the team itself. Noted Raiders Insider Vic Tafur often used terms like “on the backburner” or “some interest” when talking about Oakland’s pursuit of Weddle.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I never wanted my favorite football team to sign Eric Weddle, and neither should anyone else who shared that same interest. Weddle is a fantastic safety and would have been a huge upgrade at a position of need. But he signed elsewhere, and now it’s time to accept that and look forward to other options, just as the team will.

As it was laid out in the case for and against Weddle, losing out on the sweepstakes for his services isn’t devastating. Especially when you consider the other moves that have been made, and the other options that are still available.

Weddle is 31 and coming off his worst season as a pro. He started dealing with injuries, and that could be a concern going forward. But those are reasons that the fans who wanted him were willing to overlook, as were the teams that had interest in him, because of all the positives he brought to the table.

For whatever reasons Reggie McKenzie had, he passed. Maybe for the reasons that were just mentioned, maybe it was the money, or maybe it was some combination of. Maybe it was Weddle who passed on joining Oakland.

So even though missing out on Weddle is unfortunate, it’s not a huge loss or a big blow to the offseason. There are other options.

Other options such as Tony Jefferson. A 24-year old stud Safety with position versatility, currently in AZ. He’s a restricted free agent with an original round tender. Jefferson was undrafted, which means no draft pick would be surrounded if Oakland wanted to sign him. But the Cardinals have the right to match and have $18M in cap space, so it’s likely they would match any reasonable offer.

The Cardinals other safety, Rashad Johnson, is an option. Oakland reportedly had or still might have interest in him. Reggie Nelson from the Bengals is another possibility. Walter Thurmond from the Eagles is one more name to consider, although he is reportedly considering retirement, so maybe not.

The NFL Draft is the most likely scenario for Oakland to fill the need at safety. Darian Thompson, Karl Joseph, Vonn Bell, Miles Killebrew, Justin Simmons, Jeremy Cash, Sean Davis and more are all possibilities in the second or third round.

The team still has Nate Allen, who they like. T.J. Carrie could see some additional time at safety as well. These admittedly aren’t the most appealing options, particularly Allen, but they are still options.

Ideally, signing one of the aforementioned safeties (Jefferson) and drafting another one (Thompson) would be fantastic. Any combination, really, would be an upgrade.

Yes, missing out on Weddle is a bummer, but it’s not the end of the world. This offseason has been a huge win for Oakland and a certain changing of the guard.

No longer is the team begging for free agent visits. Players actually want to be in Oakland, and want to be apart of what is being built in the East Bay.

For whatever reasons Eric Weddle had, he didn’t. And that’s okay.

On to the next one.