Raiders to stay in Oakland for at least the 2019 season

The Oakland Raiders and the Coliseum Authority reached an agreement on Monday, and the hope is the deal will be finalized this week.

The Oakland Raiders were homeless up until Monday, when the team reached an agreement with  the Oakland Coliseum Authority to play there in 2019 as per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Discussions began last week in regards to  the team returning to Oakland, putting an end to all the talk of the team playing in London, San Francisco, or anywhere else.

Last season, Oakland ended what was supposed to be  their final season in the Bay Area on a high note, as they beat the Denver Broncos inside the Coliseum. The team then went around the perimeter of the field and thanked the fans, who continued to pack the Coliseum even with the knowledge the team would be leaving.

Now that there is an agreement in place, there will be a vote on March 15 by the city council. If it is approved, a final approval will come at the league meeting at the end of March.

This is hopefully the end of a very long couple of months, and the organization can get down to the business of building up this roster. There are a tremendous amount of free agents to figure out, as well as a ton of early draft picks, so the hope is the team can put a much more competitive team on the field in 2019.

Staying in Oakland for 2019 makes a lot of sense, as the team’s facility is still there, and it will be a much better send off than the 2018 campaign. There is talk that the Raiders could remain in Oakland in 2020 as well, if the new stadium is not done, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

For now, at least they have a home.