The Oakland Raiders will likely head to Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL season, and they better have their All-Pro center, Rodney Hudson, with them.
In March of 2015, the Oakland Raiders signed center Rodney Hudson away from the Kansas City Chiefs on a five-year/$44.5 million contract. Since then, Hudson has been the cornerstone of the Raiders offensive line, going to two Pro Bowls, while establishing himself as the premier player at his position in the AFC.
In 2019, Hudson will be entering the final year of that five-year deal, making him the most prized offseason free agent for the Raiders in 2020. In order for this team to have a successful transition to Las Vegas, they need their Pro Bowl center with them, so getting him under contract has to be priority No. 1 after the 2019 season comes to a close.
According to Pro Football Focus, since Hudson arrived in Oakland, he has allowed only two sacks, and 27 pressures in over 2,500 pass blocking snaps. If you really look into that statistic, there is not another center who even comes close to that productivity, making him the most valuable player at his position in the NFL.
In addition, he has been PFF’s top pass-blocking center in the NFL every season since 2015.
Last season, incredibly, Hudson missed out on being named to the Pro Bowl for a third straight season, a snub that was nationally criticized. Hudson was a victim of the Raiders poor record, but to a man, anyone in the NFL will tell you what a special talent Hudson is at the center position.
General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden have pushed all the right buttons this offseason, and hopefully, they do the right thing by Hudson in 2020. He will only be entering his age-31 season in 2020, so locking him up to another multi-year deal would be the smart way to go for this franchise moving forward.
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