I will put up a summary once I get off of det later this week. Regardless of what you think of the Silver & Black, this offseason has been fascinating.
Dollar said:
Any thoughts on why they let Veldheer go? That move just seemed really odd to me, especially when they decided to give an even bigger contract to Roger Saffold (which ultimately was voided when he failed the Raiders physical).
Locking up Veldheer for the long term seemed like the obvious move, unless they were worried about lasting effects from his triceps injury, or some other reason that I can't seem to figure out.
I only have two theories for this one:
1. They just didnt like Veldheer that much for two reasons. First, Veldheer got much bigger between 2012 & 2013 and subsequently got hurt and was frankly less effective after his return in 2013 than he was in 2011 / 12. The thought is that his PED use was extreme even by NFL standards and the Raiders were concerned about this. Second, Veldheer was close to a deal in December and then fired his agent to hire his brother as his agent. Supposedly Reggie and the brother / father agent combination didnt get along very well in negotiations. I don't place much credence in this theory.
2. The McKinzie / Allen / Sparano Raiders leadership has viewed Veldheer as a very good RT and an average LT. I am under the impression that they offered Veldheer somewhere between what they paid Austin Howard (4 years / $6M per) and the 5/$37.5 that Veldheer got from Arizona.
I am not qualified to question the opinions / espertise of an O line guru like Tony Sparano, but I would have paid Veldheer the $8M/per that it would have taken to keep him in Oakland for the next 5 years. I thought giving Saffold $8.5M / per for 5 years was excessive and was happy when he failed the physical. They are paying a motivated Donald Penn and last year's second round pick Menelick Watson a total of $5.6M against the cap to compete for the LT spot, so they did save some money in replacing Veldheer. The hope is that Penn plays to prove something and regains his pro bowl form while Watson continues to develop (he has only played football for four years after growing up in England) in the 3rd tackle / back up role into the eventual replacement who will get a long term deal. If Penn succeeds and Watson fails, they are back at square one in two years (Penn is 32) and if they both fail they are totally fucked relative to the, at worst top ~12 LT they had with Veldheer for just a little more money. I still would have paid Veldheer, but I like the current pairing more than Saffold for $42M.
SeoulSoxFan said:
Would love to hear from GF but I thought letting home-grown talents Veldheer and Houston go were inexplicable, especially with all that cap space.
And obviously the Cards didn't think much of the injury by handing out that 5-year, $37.5m contract with $17m guaranteed to Veldheer.
I would have signed Houston for $7M per and $20M guaranteed over 5 years. The Raiders supposedly want to flex between a 3-4 & 4-3 and Houston is the perfect mix between a 4-3 RE and 3-4 DE on either side, being big and strong enough to hold position and still have some pass rushing ability. He does not have the footspeed / quickness to every get more than 6-8 sacks and he will always have a disproportionate pressures to sacks ration because of this, but I think in a world where the last good seasons or two of DeMarcus Ware and Julius Peppers are worth $10M, Houston is worth $8M/per for 4 years of his prime. This strikes me as a market mis-read by McKinzie mixed with a little bit of Allen not liking Houston's attitude.
Signing Justin Tuck for $6M + drafting a RDE / 3-4 DE in the second round and paying them their rookie $1M is probably the thought behind thinking it would be easy to replace Houston.
