The Raiders have signed 27-year old TE Kevin Boss to a 4-year, $16 million dollar deal.  Boss played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Giants last year and he caught 35 passes for 531 yards (15.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 58 games (45 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 119 passes for 1,600 yards (13.4 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  This was an essential move for the Raiders after losing Zach Miller to the Seahawks.  Boss is a good football player and he should fit in with the Raiders.

The Raiders have signed 29-year old OG Justin Smiley.  Smiley played in 5 games (all starts) for the Jaguars last year.  He has now played in 88 games (78 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL.  Smiley is a very solid guard when healthy, so he will have a good shot to get a lot of playing time in 2011 for the Raiders.  I think he can win a starting job inside.   This was a good move for the Raiders.

UPDATE:  (8/8/2011) – Justin Smiley has decided to retire from the NFL.

The Raiders have signed 27-year old OT Stephon Heyer.  Heyer played in 12 games (5 starts) for the Redskins last year.  He has now played in 49 games (33 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  Heyer will battle rookie Joseph Barksdale (3rd round pick) for the starting job at RT for the Raiders in 2011.  Even if Heyer gets beat out for the starting job at RT, he will still help the Raiders O-Line from a depth standpoint.  I like this signing for the Raiders.

The Raiders have signed 27-year old QB Trent Edwards.  Edwards played in 5 games (3 starts) for the Jaguars and Bills last year and he completed 55 of 101 passes (54.5%) for 521 yards with 2 TD passes and 5 INTs (54.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 58 yards (4.1 ypc) last year.  He has now played in 37 games (33 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 561 of 927 passes (60.5%) for 6,019 yards with 26 TD passes and 30 INTs (75.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 78 times for 330 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in this NFL career.  Edwards is 14-19 (42.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The Raiders better pray that Jason Campbell doesn’t get hurt this year, as Edwards is a very sub par and injury prone QB.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Raiders have released Trent Edwards.

The Raiders have signed 31-year old QB J.T. O’Sullivan.  O’Sullivan played in 3 games for the Bengals last season and he was 4 of 11 (36.4%) for 40 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (47.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) last season.  O’Sullivan has now played in 17 games (8 starts) in his four years in the NFL and he has completed 145 of 257 (56.4%) for 1,866 yards with 9 TD passes and 13 INTs (69.9 QB Rating).  O’Sullivan has also carried the ball 39 times for 145 yards (3.7 ypc) in his NFL career.  O’Sullivan will be #3 in line at QB for the Raiders behind Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller.

The Raiders have signed 26-year old OLB/DE Jarvis Moss.  Moss played in 9 games earlier this season for the Broncos and he had 5 whole tackles.  Moss has played in 34 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 29 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  The Raiders would be smart to return Moss to his old position (DE) to see if he can get his career back on the right path.

The Raiders have signed 27-year old DT Jay Alford.  Alford didn’t play in any games last season due to injury.  He has played in 32 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has 16 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  The 6’3″, 304 pound Alford will provide depth along the interior of the Raiders’ D-Line in 2010.

The Raiders have signed QB Colt Brennan.  I’m really interested to find out what the thinking was here in bringing Brennan in.  The Raiders already have Jason Campbell, Bruce Gradkowski, Kyle Boller and Charlie Frye at QB for the 2010 season.  You would think that Brennan’s agent would have been looking for a team with less depth at QB to give him a legitimate chance to get his career going.  Brennan will be a longshot to make the Raiders’ opening day roster.

The Raiders have signed 31-year old DT John Henderson to a 1-year deal.  The 6’7″, 335 pound Henderson played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he had 36 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks, he forced 2 fumbles and he defensed 3 passes.  Henderson has now played in 124 games in his 8 years in the NFL and he has made 423 tackles, defensed 38 passes, forced 8 fumbles and he has 29 sacks.  This was a excellent move for the Raiders as Henderson is a pretty good defensive tackle who should help them improve the run defense.

The Raiders have signed 28-year old guard Daniel Loper.  He played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Lions last season.  Loper has played in 48 games (5 starts) in his five years in the NFL.  The 6’6″, 320 pound Loper will provide depth on the O-Line for the Raiders in 2010 if he makes the team.  It never hurts to add a guy like Loper before training camp.