The Las Vegas Raiders have their center of the future as they signed Andre James to a three-year extension, locking him in until 2024.
The Las Vegas Raiders had one of the best centers, if not the best, in the NFL in Rodney Hudson for the last six years. Hudson was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs but chose to make his way west to the then Oakland Raiders and sign a five-year, $44.5 million contract.
It was almost fate that Hudson would sign the NFL’s Raiders as he starred in high school for the BC Rain Raiders before playing his college ball with Florida State. Hudson was excellent in Kansas City, but became a Pro Bowl player with the Raiders, earning that honor three times over six years, and became regarded by experts and fellow players as one of the best in the game.
Unfortunately for the Raiders and Hudson, things seemed to fall apart this offseason as he reportedly asked to be released and was subsequently traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a third-round pick. The Raiders are certainly sad to see him go and the shock and outrage all over social media show how beloved he was by Raider Nation.
The reason the Raiders may have been willing to let Hudson walk is because they believe they have a suitable replacement in Andre James. Most starting centers are not household names so a backup is even more anonymous but the Raiders committed to James as the starting center for the next 3 years.
Let’s get to know the new starting center for the Las Vegas Raiders.