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Duane Starks had an injury marred season in which he only played in 3 games and made 3 tackles. He still is a decent football player and will likely be the nickel back for the Raiders as their young corners have seized the starting roles on the team. Starks provides good depth in the secondary for the Raiders.
Booty hasn’t done much in his NFL career as he bounced around as a third string QB which is his likely role for the Raiders. Don’t expect much as he’s never seen the field in a real NFL game. I have a feeling that Coach Kiffin did this as a favor to his QB at USC last season who is Josh Booty’s little brother.
The Raiders have signed CB Chris Johnson who didn’t play a down last season for the St. Louis Rams. He played in 13 games for the Rams in 2005 and he made 24 tackles, defensed 4 passes, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. He also returned 38 kickoffs that season for 857 yards (22.6 avg) with 1 TD return. Look for the Raiders to use him in their nickel and dime packages if he makes the team. He also will be insurance for Chris Carr as a kickoff returner.
The Raiders need all the help they can get on their offensive line that’s why they re-signed Slaughter. He played in 15 games last season for the Raiders and started 6 of them.  He is a massive player at 6’8″, 340 pounds so the Raiders hope they can teach him a few tricks that will help him perform better in 2007.
Alvis Whitted will give the Raiders a solid #3 or #4 WR next season. He played in 14 games last season (13 starts) and he caught 27 passes for 299 yards (11.1 avg). He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards.Â
The Raiders have signed OT Fred Wakefield to a two year contract. Wakefield played in all 16 games (9 starts) for the Arizona Cardinals and he even caught 2 passes for 24 yards (12.0 avg). Look for the 6’7″, 319 pound lineman to really help out the porous offensive line of the Raiders in 2007.
The Raiders have signed fullback Justin Griffith to a 3 year, $3.8 million dollar contract. He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Atlanta Falcons and he carried the ball 19 times for 106 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also caught 23 passes for 168 yards (7.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs. Griffith is a good runner, receiver and blocker. He will help the Raiders really improve in the running game and short passing game. Another nice signing by the Raiders.
The Raiders have signed reserve TE Tony Stewart. Stewart played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Cincinnati Bengals last season and he caught 14 passes for 120 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD catch. This was a nice depth signing for the Raiders.
The Raiders have signed Dominic Rhodes to a 2 year contract. It’s likely that Rhodes will split carries with Lamont Jordan and that could give the Raiders a solid running game if they get blocking up front. Rhodes played in all 16 games last season for the Colts and he carried the ball 187 times for 641 yards (3.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs. He also caught 36 passes for 251 yards (7.0 avg). The Raiders also put language in Rhodes’ contract to protect them in case he gets suspended by the NFL for the DUI he got earlier this year. This was a good signing for the Raiders.
Any time the Raiders sign an offensive lineman it is a good move so the signing of Newberry qualifies. He didn’t play any games last season because he was injured. In 9 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Newberry has started 90 games. Look for the 6’5″, 304 pound Newberry to have a good shot to win the starting center job for the Raiders.