The Raiders have signed 33-year old DE/OLB Greg Ellis to a 3-year contract.  Ellis played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he made 36 tackles, defensed 1 pass, had 8 sacks and 1 interception.  Ellis has now played in 162 games in his 11-year NFL career and he has made 496 tackles, has defensed 46 passes, has 77 sacks, forced 21 fumbles and he has 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Ellis will likely move back to DE for the Raiders this season and he should improve their pass rush.

The Raiders have brought in veteran Jeff Garcia to push JaMarcus Russell for the starting job in 2009.  Russell has all of the tools to be a great QB as he has nice size, good mobility and a strong throwing arm.  But, he makes a ton of mistakes and that’s where Garcia comes in.  Garcia doesn’t have a great arm but it’s good enough.  He also has great mobility and he’s a good team leader.  Based on how he played when he was healthy last season for the Bucs it appears that Garcia might still be a decent NFL starting QB in 2009.  He does have problems with durability however based on his style of play and age.  Andrew Walter probably has the edge for the #3 QB job heading into camp as he has been a Raider for a while.  But, he was on some pretty bad Raiders’ teams early in his career and he could be punch drunk right now.  Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye are similar in style as they both have weak arms and good mobility.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  C-

The Oakland Raiders have signed 27-year old Charlie Frye.  Despite being a big man at 6′4″, 217 pounds Frye lacks a big arm often throwing ducks.  Frye played in 2 games for the Seahawks last season and he completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 83 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 interceptions (53.4 QB Rating).  Frye also carried the ball 2 times for 30 yards (15.0 ypc) last season for the Seahawks.  Frye has now played in 23 games in his 4-year NFL career and he has completed 366 of 590 passes (62%) for 3,573 yards with 16 TD passes and 25 interceptions (70.4 QB Rating).  Frye has also carried the ball 68 times for 306 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his career.  Frye will battle Andrew Walter and Bruce Gradkowski for the right to hold the clipboard as the #3 QB on the Raiders in 2009.

The Raiders have signed 38-year old fullback Lorenzo Neal to a 1-year deal.  Neal played in all 16 games for the Ravens last season and he carried the ball 12 times for 25 yards (2.1 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 35 yards (5.0 avg) last season.  Neal is like having an extra guard in the backfield as he loves to block in the running game.  Neal has now played in 239 games in his 16-year NFL career carrying the ball 226 times for 807 yards (3.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Neal has also caught 199 passes for 1,086 yards (5.5 avg) with 12 TD grabs in his career.  This was a good signing for the Raiders as Neal really helps out a running game.

The Raiders have signed 22-year old RB Gary Russell to a 1-year deal.  Russell played in 12 games for the Steelers last season and he carried the ball 28 times for 77 yards (2.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 1 pass for -2 yards last season for the Steelers.  Russell helped out on special teams last season for the Steelers as he returned 16 kickoffs for 371 yards (23.2 avg).  The Raiders will look for Russell to help them in short yardage downs in 2009.  Russell has now played in 15 games in his 2-year NFL career and he has carried the ball 35 times for 98 yards (2.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He isn’t much help in the passing game though with only 1 career catch for -2 yards.