<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Wide receiver Javon Walker, released by the Denver Broncos on Friday, agreed to a deal with the division-rival Oakland Raiders on Tuesday, a source told ESPN.com's Michael Smith. The terms of the deal call for Walker to receive a six-year, $55 million contract that includes more than $16 million in guarantees and pays him roughly $27 million over the first three years of the deal. Soon after being released, at least a third of the league reached out to the six-year veteran. Injuries limited Walker to eight games last season and he finished with 26 catches for 287 yards and no touchdowns. He started the season with two 100-yard games before missing two months following a third knee operation. Beginning his career with the Packers, Walker played two seasons in Denver. He had 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight TDs the first season. But the offseason was punctuated by tragedy. Involved in a drive-by shooting soon after the season ended, teammate Darrent Williams died in Walker's arms.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3277219 Jesus Christ thats a lot of money. Raiders are overpaying like fuggin crazy for everyone but at least they're getting talent, right? On the bright side, only 16 mils are guaranteed, same as Berrian got. Hes got major red flags with his knee and just being injury prone in general as well as the fact that he hasn't been the same since Darrent Williams died in his arms. Not to mention he seems like a whiny b*tch. Despite the gross overpayment of everyone this offseason I do like the moves we've made. re-signing Kelly was key. Hes overpaid, sure, but not nearly as much as was portrayed by the media and hes a pretty damn good lineman. We also franchised Aso and retained him for the year. Gibril Wilson is a very nice safety which fills a big hole for us. Our receiving corps was ridiculously untalented until we got Walker. Jamarcus needs someone to throw to and we got him a veteran receiver, possibly a number one option type of guy(?). Kwame Harris.... hes a decent run blocker they say right? LMAO. We'll see how Cable uses him in the zone blocking. I trust Cable if he wanted Kwame that he'll be decent, hes athletic which is good for run blocking so who knows how he'll pan out. Gallery was actually pretty good at RG last season, we still have Carlisle who is a servicable starter and Henderson or McQuistan may be ready to start this year. I think we'll have a decent O-line when its all said and done. In Cable we trust. Overall, we've covered a lot of major holes in the roster; get a legit safety to replace Schweigart, get a competent veteran receiver, get some O-line help (still working on it), retained our major free agents. We still have a good chunk of cap room I believe. Word was we had 26 million after the Kelly and Asomogha signings and before Sapp filed his paperwork. We still have to cut Lamont/Rhodes and maybe Schweigart to free up a chunk of cap. We could have enough cap to sign a few more good FAs along with our draft picks. Regarding the draft, I doubt we go for a DT with Kelly, Warren, and Sands already all under contract. I would guess its either Gholston or McFadden depending on who is there. C. Long won't be there and I don't think we take another OL with a top 5 pick after what happened with Gallery and Cable's zone blocking system.
What's up with the Raiders and overpaying this offseason? They overpaid a guy who hasn't really proven anything in Kelly and now they overpaid Javon Walker. For that matter, they overpaid a couple guys with recent injury issues. If I'm correct, didn't Kelly miss 9 games this year due to injury, and Walker also missed significant time due to an aforementioned knee injury? As it is, at least they're getting talent, even if there is some overpaying going on. Now all they need to do is hope Darren McFadden falls to them come April 26th.
Tommy Kelly is the guy who blocked the kick that ended the losing streak. That act alone should get him a huge bonus, imo. The defense is going to look good this year. Wilson and Huff at safties, instead of Schweigert and Huff. Schweigart gave away too many yards in missed tackling. Consistant, good play from the linebackers, and getting Kelly signed I think will all make this year that much more fun. I was wishing for Javon Walker, and we have him. He's a playmaker when healthy. Surround Jamarcus with as many good veterans as possible. At #4, I am hoping that we draft offense if Chris Long is not available. Justin Fargas / DMCFadden sounds great. I would consider Jake Long as well, because he is built more like an NFL tackle. All the knocks on Robert Gallery were true, and he is now a guard.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Moo2K4 @ Mar 5 2008, 01:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What's up with the Raiders and overpaying this offseason? They overpaid a guy who hasn't really proven anything in Kelly and now they overpaid Javon Walker. For that matter, they overpaid a couple guys with recent injury issues. If I'm correct, didn't Kelly miss 9 games this year due to injury, and Walker also missed significant time due to an aforementioned knee injury? As it is, at least they're getting talent, even if there is some overpaying going on. Now all they need to do is hope Darren McFadden falls to them come April 26th.</div> We have nothing else to offer except money. We aren't a winning franchise, we have a rookie QB, front office seems to be in shenanigans, who knows whats up with the head coach situation, we don't have great players that other players want to play with. Money is the only reason why players would come to Oakland at this point. I will support the overpaying though. We got the best safety on the market, locked up the best DT and CB in Kelly and Aso, got the only #1 receiver on the market not named Moss. At the beginning of free agency agents wanted nothing to do with Oakland, now that Al has been doling out cash like crazy they want their clients to go and visit Oakland and land a huge payday. Financially its a mess but we did get several of the top FAs and the attention of the players and agents. Return of Raiders, don't forget about Michael Bush too. Reports last week said that he was 100% healed and ready to play. Hes got major potential.
I can't wait to see Bush get more involved this year. As for the #4 pick, it really appears that the Raiders are ready to draft an offensive lineman. They cut ties with former starting left tackle Barry Sims this week. They aren't deep at any line position, so that tells me that we are going to address that need early and often with their draft picks. Jake Long - Oakland Raider. His offensive line coach - Tom Cable. It looks like a great fit, doesn't it?
