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The Raiders have placed 27-year old linebacker Ricky Brown on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion. Brown played in 3 games for the Raiders this year but he didn’t have any tackles. Brown has now played in 58 games in his six years with the Raiders and he has 102 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles and 4 passes defensed. This injury is going to hurt the Raiders’ special teams a little bit going forward.
82-year old Raiders’ owner Al Davis was found dead at his home this morning at the age of 82. Davis was a trailblazer in the NFL. He hired both the first black head coach (Art Shell) and the first latino head coach (Tom Flores) in NFL history! He also coined the term “Commitment to Excellence” which was the Raiders’ motto for a long, long time. He first came to the Raiders in 1963 as the GM and head coach. He was 23-16-3 as the head coach of the Raiders. The Raiders won three Super Bowls while he owned the team, winning in 1976 and 1980 in Oakland and in 1983 in Los Angeles. Davis was elected in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio back in 1992. He is one of the greatest owners to have ever set foot in the NFL and he will always be an icon in Raiders’ history. This is a huge loss to the Raiders and my prayers go out to Al Davis’ family……may he rest in peace.
The Raiders have released 24-year old WR/PR/KR Nick Miller. Miller played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Raiders but he didn’t catch any passes. He also returned 2 punts for 19 yards (9.5 avg) and 4 kickoffs for 61 yards (15.3 avg) for the Raiders this year. Miller played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Raiders in his two years with them and he caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg). Miller also returned 37 punts for 276 yards (7.5 avg) and 6 kickoffs for 98 yards (16.3 avg) in his time with the Raiders. This move likely means that gamebreaker Jacoby Ford is finally healthy.
The Raiders have released 33-year old RB Michael Bennett. Bennett played in 7 games for the Raiders last year and he carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc). He also caught 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg) for the Raiders last year. Bennett also pitched in with 8 tackles on special teams last year. This isn’t much of a loss for the Raiders.
The Raiders have released 29-year old guard Daniel Loper. Loper played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last year. He has now played in 58 games (9 starts) in his first six years in the NFL. The Raiders have imported a lot of younger offensive linemen in the offseason, which is the reason that Loper is looking for a new job.
The Raiders have re-signed 27-year old LB Ricky Brown. Brown spent the preseason with the Patriots. He played in 14 games for the Raiders last year and he had 13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble. Brown has now played in 55 games in his first five years with the Raiders and he has 102 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 tackles for a loss and 4 passes defensed. Brown’s biggest job will be on special teams but he will also provide depth at LB for the Raiders in 2011. They were smart to bring him back.
The Raiders have released 24-year old CB Walter McFadden. McFadden was a 5th round pick out of Auburn in the 2010 NFL Draft. McFadden played in 4 games for the Raiders last year and he had 5 tackles. McFadden just didn’t show enough to keep his job in Oakland.
The Oakland Raiders took 22-year old, 6’6″, 233 QB Terrelle Pryor in the 3rd round of the supplemental draft today. He must sit out the first five games of his NFL career (no practice time either) due to a league suspension for circumventing the supplemental draft. Pryor ran a 4.36 40 at his Pro Day last Saturday and you know how much owner Al Davis loves speed. I think the Raiders are going to look at Pryor first as a QB as they have no clear cut QB of the future. Pryor completed 210 of 323 passes (65%) for 2,772 yards with 27 TD passes and 11 INTs last year for the Buckeyes. He also carried the ball 135 times for 754 yards (5.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs for the Buckeyes. Pryor completed 477 of 783 passes (60.9%) for 6,177 yards with 57 TD passes and 26 INTs in his three years with the Buckeyes. He also carried the ball 436 times for 2,164 yards (5.0 ypc) with 17 TD runs and he caught 3 passes for 24 yards (8.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his college career. I shouldn’t be too surprised to see the Raiders use such a high pick on Pryor because he will fit right in with the Raiders.
The Oakland Raiders sign safety Matt Giordano. Giordano played in 9 games for the Saints last year and he had 3 tackles. He has now played in 69 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 85 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD). Giordano could get some P.T. on D for the Raiders and he will also help them out on special teams.
UPDATE: (9/4/2011) – The Raiders have released Matt Giordano.
UPDATE: (9/5/2011) – The Raiders have re-signed Matt Giordano.
The Raiders have signed 28-year old safety Josh Bullocks. Bullocks played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he had 11 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Bullocks has now played in 90 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 291 tackles, 27 passes defensed, 6 interceptions, 1 sack, 5 forced fumbles and 2 tackles for a loss. He could get some big time P.T. with the Raiders due to the injury of Hiram Eugene.
UPDATE: (8/31/2011) – The Raiders have released Josh Bullocks.