Then, it got worse.
The Raiders voided the offer to offensive lineman Rodger Saffold because he failed the team’s physical, as first reported by Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. According to Mike Silver of NFL.com, owner Mark Davis pulled the plug on the deal, and Saffold will return to the St. Louis Rams on a five-year contract, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It’s going to be difficult for the Raiders to recover from this development. When the owner concocts a reason to invalidate the general manager’s top free-agent signing, there are bigger issues than having a glaring hole at left tackle.
The Raiders are the laughingstock of the league, and perception is reality in the eyes of prospective free agents. Recovery will only come if the Raiders can change those perceptions over the next few days and weeks.
It’s giant steaming pile of you know what until the Raiders prove otherwise. They can start by cleaning up the mess inside team headquarters, because nothing else they do will matter if there is dysfunction within.
Maybe Davis saved McKenzie from a terrible mistake, but he shouldn’t be undermining the man he hired to handle the football operations. It’s a bad sign for things to come, even if the Raiders manage to land a few big-name free agents to smooth things over with the Raider Nation.
If the Raiders are going to recover from this, there needs to be a line Davis doesn’t cross. Assuming the report is true and Davis pulled the plug on the deal, McKenzie should demand no further meddling. McKenzie can’t do his job if Davis is ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
