Las Vegas Raiders General Thread

Sean89

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I normally take camp practice with a pinch of salt, but great to hear that Mad Max is tearing it up by all accounts.

Our guys will be all over the top ten in sacks, pressures etc. Should make one think, but won't hold my breath.
 

Don Wassall

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Jimmy G rumored to sign with the Raiders.
He gets a nice contract, starter money:

Raiders signed QB Jimmy Garoppolo, formerly of the 49ers, to a three-year, $72.75 million contract.​

Garoppolo officially reunites with Josh McDaniels in Vegas, in a move the Raiders desperately needed to happen after cutting ties with Derek Carr and failing to land Aaron Rodgers. Oh, and they also lost Jarrett Stidham, another McDaniels disciple, to the Broncos just hours into free agency. A proven vet who spent six seasons with the 49ers and appeared in a Super Bowl, Garoppolo is 40-17 in his career as a starter and is fifth in EPA per play (0.214) among quarterbacks over the last three seasons. Still, this feels like a move that does little to improve the Raiders in the long haul, with the lone positive being his familiarity with McDaniels' offense.
 

white lightning

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I love this move. The Niners haven't given Jimmy G. the respect he deserves. A fresh start in Vegas could just be what the
doctor ordered. Look how great it worked out for Stafford. The Raiders are not on the level of the Rams but they do have
some talent on both sides of the ball. Hoping Garoppolo can shine on the strip and make Vegas a football hot spot!
 

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He gets a nice contract, starter money:

Raiders signed QB Jimmy Garoppolo, formerly of the 49ers, to a three-year, $72.75 million contract.​

Garoppolo officially reunites with Josh McDaniels in Vegas, in a move the Raiders desperately needed to happen after cutting ties with Derek Carr and failing to land Aaron Rodgers. Oh, and they also lost Jarrett Stidham, another McDaniels disciple, to the Broncos just hours into free agency. A proven vet who spent six seasons with the 49ers and appeared in a Super Bowl, Garoppolo is 40-17 in his career as a starter and is fifth in EPA per play (0.214) among quarterbacks over the last three seasons. Still, this feels like a move that does little to improve the Raiders in the long haul, with the lone positive being his familiarity with McDaniels' offense.
I’m obviously happy that Jimmy G landed in a good spot with a coach that appreciates and can hopefully get the most out of him. I do however need to complain about this awful propaganda blurb.

So in one breath they show Jimmy’s incredible career record and state he’s among the elite when it comes to expected points added (EPA). Then in the next sentence they tell their audience that the “move does little to improve the Raiders in the long haul”. Why was that included? Just to dump on a White player who is a positive addition, when they should be taking the Raiders mostly black offensive line and 90% black defense to task.
 

Leonardfan

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Raiders signed Patriots WR Jakobi Myers. McDaniel is a moron - another former patriot coming over. It didn't work when he was first a head coach but somehow it will now. My guess is Renfrow gets moved or cut.

Jimmy G is a good signing but Derek Carr was just as good. Lots of these decisions are ego driven.
 

Don Wassall

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Raiders signed Patriots WR Jakobi Myers. McDaniel is a moron - another former patriot coming over. It didn't work when he was first a head coach but somehow it will now. My guess is Renfrow gets moved or cut.

Jimmy G is a good signing but Derek Carr was just as good. Lots of these decisions are ego driven.
Renfrow ought to be checking our 2009 archives about how McDaniel screwed over Peyton Hillis in Denver. What an a-hole of a head coach he's turned out to be twice now.
 

Leonardfan

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Renfrow ought to be checking our 2009 archives about how McDaniel screwed over Peyton Hillis in Denver. What an a-hole of a head coach he's turned out to be twice now.

At least we have it all documented. Another case study in the "patriot way" going wrong.
 

Phall

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Renfrow ought to be checking our 2009 archives about how McDaniel screwed over Peyton Hillis in Denver. What an a-hole of a head coach he's turned out to be twice now.
Why did McDaniels chase after Jarrett Stidham last offseason (after coaching him for three years), tank the 2022 regular season by giving Stidham the last two starts over Derrick Carr, then let Stidham walk to the Broncos for on small potatoes backup deal? Garoppalo isn't exactly Mr. Ironman. I am getting the reinforced impression that McDaniels is flying by the seat of his pants, and not in a good way.
 

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An idiot signing by the Raiders given that free agent Foster Moreau, who is more talented and productive than the huge first round bust Howard, could have undoubtedly been signed at a "White man's discount." Maybe they still will sign Moreau as he's still on the market. Even Josh McDaniels must realize Howard is not capable of starting in the NFL.

Raiders signed TE O.J. Howard, formerly of the Texans.​

If not for a torn Achilles suffered in 2020, we could be talking about this signing with a bit more optimism. Instead, the Raiders signing Howard is a bit peculiar given that Foster Moreau -- who is fresh off a career year (33-420-2) -- is still floating around in free agency. Since returning from his Achilles injury, Howard has managed just 24 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns over the last two seasons and was cut by the Bills last offseason before landing with the Texans. Given his injury history and recent lack of production, it's hard to imagine entering next season as the Raiders' TE1. Even if he does win the starting job, there's little reason to view him as anything more than a low-end TE2 for fantasy purposes.
 

Leonardfan

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An idiot signing by the Raiders given that free agent Foster Moreau, who is more talented and productive than the huge first round bust Howard, could have undoubtedly been signed at a "White man's discount." Maybe they still will sign Moreau as he's still on the market. Even Josh McDaniels must realize Howard is not capable of starting in the NFL.

Raiders signed TE O.J. Howard, formerly of the Texans.​

If not for a torn Achilles suffered in 2020, we could be talking about this signing with a bit more optimism. Instead, the Raiders signing Howard is a bit peculiar given that Foster Moreau -- who is fresh off a career year (33-420-2) -- is still floating around in free agency. Since returning from his Achilles injury, Howard has managed just 24 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns over the last two seasons and was cut by the Bills last offseason before landing with the Texans. Given his injury history and recent lack of production, it's hard to imagine entering next season as the Raiders' TE1. Even if he does win the starting job, there's little reason to view him as anything more than a low-end TE2 for fantasy purposes.

O.J. Howard was supposedly the best TE in the most athletic, best draft class ever back in 2017 according to experts. He's a bust if you ask me. McDaniels is a moron - Gruden/Mayock actually put together a solid, competitive teams and McDaniels is dismantling it. Wouldn't be surprise if Renfrow is moved during the draft.

As an aside - The other day I read an article stating that this year's TE class might be the deepest in a decade. Bizarre how the "experts" lack any short of memory on the narratives they pushed. I do have no doubt the 2023 draft class will be much better than 2017 (Kittle the exception of course).
 

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Just checking out the Raiders' current depth chart and surprisingly 8 White starters are listed -- QB Jimmy Garappolo, WR Hunter Renfrow, TE Austin Hooper (w rookie upgrade Michael Mayer waiting in the wings), LT Kolton Miller, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, DE Maxx Crosby, and WLB Robert Spillane. Not bad at all by NFL standards if it holds up and will be even better if Jimmy G is successful and Renfrow is once again made an integral part of the passing offense.
 

jphoss

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O.J. Howard was supposedly the best TE in the most athletic, best draft class ever back in 2017 according to experts. He's a bust if you ask me. McDaniels is a moron - Gruden/Mayock actually put together a solid, competitive teams and McDaniels is dismantling it. Wouldn't be surprise if Renfrow is moved during the draft.

As an aside - The other day I read an article stating that this year's TE class might be the deepest in a decade. Bizarre how the "experts" lack any short of memory on the narratives they pushed. I do have no doubt the 2023 draft class will be much better than 2017 (Kittle the exception of course).
He had like 1, maybe 2 ok years but never produced like a first round pick who was hyped as much as him. I don’t know if this is me but it seems like a lot of black players can’t sustain success. They have 1-2 good years and then fall off a cliff whereas really good white players put together at least 5-8 really good years coupled with a slower decline. Great White te’s and lb’s are good for at least a decade, Harrison Smith has been elite for an about that, Kupp still needs to put together a few more but seems very likely. I don’t know if it’s because we mature later so our bodies don’t give in so quickly or because a white player knows any letup means being cut, or just caring about their craft more?
 

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I think most black players who have 1-3 good seasons get caught up in the life(girls, drugs, cars, bling, mooching family members etc) outside of football too much. Be smart, watch your money and dont let your "johnson" do your thinking.....
 

Don Wassall

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Just checking out the Raiders' current depth chart and surprisingly 8 White starters are listed -- QB Jimmy Garappolo, WR Hunter Renfrow, TE Austin Hooper (w rookie upgrade Michael Mayer waiting in the wings), LT Kolton Miller, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, DE Maxx Crosby, and WLB Robert Spillane. Not bad at all by NFL standards if it holds up and will be even better if Jimmy G is successful and Renfrow is once again made an integral part of the passing offense.
The Raiders released their first depth chart and Luke Masterson is somewhat surprisingly listed as one of the starting outside backers along with Robert Spillane, so as of now the Raiders have 9 White starters including 3 on defense. Maybe we piled on McDaniels a bit prematurely, remembering what he did to Peyton Hillis in Denver and seemingly Hunter Renfrow last year. It's not only how many White starters a team has but at what positions and how they're used, but while the Raiders looked to quickly be retreating to their traditional position of being one of the blackest teams in the league following the purge of Gruden and Maycuck, that appears not to be the case.
 

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The Raiders used their seventh pick of the first round to take a pass rusher who had been dealing with a serious foot injury since last November. He only started practicing a couple weeks ago and not surprisingly was terrible in the opener, having to replace aged Chandler Jones who was away from the team after one of those freakouts that seems to happen on a semi-regular basis with NFL players of a certain hue.

Way too early to proclaim Wilson a bust, but all the signs are there. He could end up making the Raiders' Clelin Ferrell pick seem brilliant by comparison:

 

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https://nfltraderumors.co/raiders-signing-qb-gardner-minshew-to-two-year-deal/

O'Connell played well last year so it's kind of a puzzling move. Happy for Minshew though has he deserves to be a starter in the league.
I don’t think O’Connell played well enough to be the unquestioned starter. Signing Minshew is a good move, especially since the Colts are all in with their quota. Hopefully this signing also prevents the Raiders from picking one of those black QBs that are “1st round talents”.
 
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Don Wassall

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Minshew signed to a decent contract, should have at least this season to establish himself as the starter:

Gardner Minshew’s contract with the Raiders is worth up to $25 million, with $15 million guaranteed.
That’s also known as starter money for the journeyman quarterback. While head coach Antonio Pierce might talk up a training camp battle between Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, Minshew is all but certain to start Week 1 for Vegas. Rotoworld’s Denny Carter has more on the signing and what it might mean for Davante Adams.
 

icsept

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Minshew is fully capable of feeding Davante Adams. It looks like the Raiders will be focused on bolstering their defense in free agency. Probably in the draft as well. Antonio Pierce knows he can keep his job with a strong defense and blame the offense on someone else.
 

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Another of that exotically rare species, a White player on the Browns, hits the trail:

Raiders agreed to terms with TE Harrison Bryant, formerly of the Browns, on a one-year deal worth up to $4 million.
Bryant, a highly productive college tight end who flashed in limited opportunity for the Browns, will be paired with Michael Mayer in 2024. A sure-handed, somewhat speedy player with after-the-catch ability, it wouldn’t be shocking if Bryant became the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. He posted 89/791/10 over four years in Cleveland.
 

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Another of that exotically rare species, a White player on the Browns, hits the trail:

Raiders agreed to terms with TE Harrison Bryant, formerly of the Browns, on a one-year deal worth up to $4 million.
Bryant, a highly productive college tight end who flashed in limited opportunity for the Browns, will be paired with Michael Mayer in 2024. A sure-handed, somewhat speedy player with after-the-catch ability, it wouldn’t be shocking if Bryant became the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. He posted 89/791/10 over four years in Cleveland.
Good move for him to get the heck out of there. The Raiders have some White talent. Enough to make them a team to check in on at least.
 

Don Wassall

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Alex Bachman is a classic case of the time honored treatment of keeping a capable White receiver on the fringes of a number of teams for several years before finally being consigned to the Caste dumpster. Bachman shined for the Giants in preseason but that wasn't enough, it rarely is.

 

Leonardfan

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Bachman is certainly a great example of a White athlete shining in the preseason only to be caste aside. We have documented countless examples of this over the years. It is a shame the NFL continues to minimize the preseason and potentially take away another preseason game to add an 18th to an already diluted product.

I’ve found preseason football to be a lot more entertaining and enjoyable to watch just because White athletes get a few more opportunities.
 
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