The first move was one that was well anticipated—the release of Kamerion Wimbley. The decision to do so freed up $4.5 million of cap space.
The next two moves came shortly after.
First, the Raiders announced the signing of offensive guard Mike Brisiel, formerly of the Houston Texans. He has extensive experience playing in the zone-blocking scheme under offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and offensive line coach Frank Pollack. Brisiel also has experience snapping the ball, which is always great.
He signed a deal worth $20 million over five years—not bad for our future starting right guard.
After that, the Raiders announced that they had come to a one year agreement with cornerback Ron Bartell, who was recently released from the St. Louis Rams. Bartell suffered from a neck injury, which played a big part in his release, but is expected to be healthy at the start of the season.
The Raiders gave Bartell a low-risk, high-reward contract worth $3 million for one year. He's expected to start as the No. 2 cornerback.
The start of this offseason has been eerily similar to the offseason the San Francisco 49ers had last season. Before the 2011 season had begun, the 49ers were rebuilding, but knew that they had the right pieces to win. They hired Trent Baalke as their new general manager and the young and charismatic Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach.
The Raiders face almost an identical situation. They have a new owner in Mark Davis, a new general manager in Reggie McKenzie and their own young and charismatic coach in Dennis Allen.
But the similarities don't stop there. Trent Baalke started his regime by trimming the fat, otherwise, the old and underachieving players. Nate Clements, who signed an ei...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
