Oakland Raiders Free Agency Report Card for Every Move Made so Far

New Oakland Raiders' general manager Reggie McKenzie inherited a mess.

The Raiders had been a mom and pop shop for decades under the leadership of Al Davis while the rest of the NFL was expanding their operations to more closely reflect Fortune 500 companies.

The mom and pop shop had advantages, but the lack of structure on the football side of the organization also had unintended consequences once Al Davis died.

Lopsided contracts became something of a norm in Oakland and McKenzie was left the task to clean them up while still trying to improve the on-the-field product.

The contracts of Stanford Routt and Kamerion Wimbley were two that McKenzie was unable to salvage, forcing him to move in another direction.

Richard Seymour and Michael Huff were examples of how McKenzie decided it was worth it to keep the players and take the cap hit over the next several years.

McKenzie is working with a skeleton crew and still trying improve the roster enough to compete in the AFC West.

While any final grades will have to wait, we'll give McKenzie a letter grade for the moves he's made to this point in free agency.

 

Release Kevin Boss

Grade: A-

Boss was making quite a bit more than he would have received on the open market. He was also benched in favor or Brandon Myers last season. It was in the Raiders best interest to release him and not pay a player that was no longer in the team's future plans.

Boss was a grade A human, but McKenzie can replace his production for almost nothing. Unfortunately, free agents can sign anywhere and Boss signed with the Chiefs. It was outside McKenzie's control, but it hurts the final grade.

 

Release John Henderson and Cooper Carlisle



Grade: A+

John Henderson and Cooper Carlisle were two high-priced veterans with hefty 2012 salaries. McKenzie had ...

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