Showing posts with label D.J. Hayden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D.J. Hayden. Show all posts

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Oakland Raiders' offseason roster




oakland raiders

Oakland Raiders After a few fits and starts to begin free agency, Oakland Raiders the Raiders rebuilt their offensive and defensive lines and addressed the secondary and offensive backfield while adding veterans with championship pedigrees. Oakland Raiders  In the draft, Oakland scooped up the best player available in linebacker Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders who has been nothing short of impressive in the offseason workouts, Oakland Raiders while picking up the franchise's quarterback of the future in Derek Carr (who has been elevated to second string) and a potential starter at left guard in Gabe Jackson. Oakland Raiders  But if you think the Raiders are done tinkering with the 90-man roster, think again. General manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen have said all along they expect to make moves that, in their estimation, make the Raiders a better football team.   Plus, they have money to play with when entertaining such ideas. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Raiders still have more than $10.7 million in salary-cap space. But again, to paraphrase McKenzie's refrain, just because he has money in his pocket does not mean he's going to spend it on junk.   Sure, $10 million may sound like a lot, and the Raiders are far from a perfect unit Allen himself equated his roster situation to a kid sitting on Santa's lap and not getting everything he asked for but Oakland's cap surplus pales in comparison to the likes of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have more than $27 million in cap space. Yet it's enough to make the New Orleans Saints and their relatively meager $1.9 million in cap space squint with jealousy.   Still, are there any free agents still out there who would put the Raiders coming off consecutive 4-12 seasons and with the NFL's toughest strength of schedule in 2014 over the top?  Yes, the Raiders could still use a true No. 1 receiver. They could also use some veteran help at tight end. And sure, Oakland Raiders with D.J. Hayden's injury, another tried and tested cornerback would seemingly fit the bill, Oakland Raiders which is why the Raiders non-pursuit of Brandon Flowers was a head-scratcher of sorts. Instead, Oakland Raiders Flowers went from one division rival (the Kansas City Chiefs) to another (the San Diego Chargers).  Oakland Raiders McKenzie has already made an assortment of minor roster moves this offseason, Oakland Raiders and with more than $10 million still at his disposal, Oakland Raiders what he decides to do with it will tell you all you need to know about how he feels about the current roster.  Oakland Raiders Should McKenzie stand pat, or are there players out there he should target? Oakland Raiders Would it be more prudent to possibly use that salary-cap space on camp cut, Oakland Raiders.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Oakland Raiders’s offseason







Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders' offseason workouts began on April 22. Oakland Raiders They concluded Thursday with the end of a mandatory three-day minicamp. Oakland Raiders So what did Dennis Allen, entering his third season as the Raiders' head coach, glean from nearly two months of being around his team as it begins its reconstruction in earnest, especially with training camp about five weeks away? Oakland Raiders Consider Every Raiders draft pick is signed and every Raiders player under contract was in attendance for the minicamp. No contract haggling, squabbling or unnecessary drama. "I like the direction we're headed as a football team," Allen said. Oakland Raiders "I think we've got a group of guys that are committed to winning. I think they're committed to this organization, and I think we have a lot of guys who have a lot to prove. That's an exciting thing for a football coach. That's an exciting thing for these football players. "So I like our direction, I like our commitment and we've just got to keep working. Oakland Raiders " An infusion of veteran talent with past success, especially on the defensive side of the ball, such as Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and Antonio Smith as well as Oakland taking linebacker Khalil Mack with the No. 5 overall draft pick  has given the team a new identity. And on offense, the Raiders have a seasoned, new quarterback in Matt Schaub and a hot prospect in second-round draft pick Derek Carr, who has overtaken Matt McGloin as Oakland's second-string signal-caller. Injury-wise, guard Lucas Nix (knee) is the only player Allen sees as potentially missing the start of training camp, even though cornerback D.J. Hayden (foot) participated in just one organized team activities (OTAs) session and linebacker Kevin Burnett (ankle) and Smith (undisclosed) missed them all while recovering from injuries. Allen was asked if there was a palpable feel on the practice field that this was, indeed, a better team than he had the previous two years. "I don't think there's any question you can feel that," Allen said. "You guys have been around here too, Oakland Raiders so I think you've seen these practices around here for a while. " Oakland Raiders I think we've had an outstanding offseason and I think our team from the day that we started the offseason program to where we're at now, we've improved tremendously. But we've still got to go out there and do it when we get to training camp and do it when we get to the regular season," Oakland Raiders the end.