The decade is coming to an end. It hasn’t been a great one for the “Team of the Decades.” They made the playoffs just once with that also being their one winning season and they didn’t win any playoff games. The franchise’s sixth decade was easily its worst.

In that regard, you’re likely to wonder how some of the names who made the franchise’s all-decade team made it here. And honestly in some cases, it was the lesser of the evils. In other cases, it took some digging to find the reasons for a player to make the team. But some players would have made this team no matter who they played for. There just weren’t enough of those to cobble together a team that could sustain success.

With that said, here is my Raiders 2010-2019 All-Decade team

Quarterback: Derek Carr

2nd team: Carson Palmer

Carr was an easy choice here. He was the Raiders quarterback for six of the ten seasons this decade, and remaining the starting QB in Oakland for that long allowed him to become the franchise all-time leading passer. He made three Pro Bowls and surpassed 4000 yards just once.

Running back: Latavius Murray

2nd team: Darren McFadden

There wasn’t a lot to choose from for this one. Murray went over 1000 yards in his second season in Oakland. As a rookie, he didn’t get his shot until week 11 and his monster game propelled the Raiders to their first win of the season. The following season he went over 1000 yards. His third season, he put up 12 touchdowns, which was the most by any back in a single season this decade.

Fullback: Marcel Reece

2nd team: Jamize Olawale

For a few years there, Reece was the only surefire Pro Bowler the Raiders had. He made three in a row from 2012 to 2014 and was described simply as a weapon.

Wide receivers: Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree

2nd team: Rod Streater, Seth Roberts

Cooper and Crabtree were easy choices. No other receivers in the past ten years have come close to the numbers they put up in their three years together in 2015, 16, and 17. In the team’s one winning season in 2016, they both went over 1000 yards. And, yes, Seth Roberts is on the second team. Fight me.

Tight end: Jared Cook

2nd team: Lee Smith

Cook was the best tight end the Raiders had since Zach Miller. Cook was the Raiders leading receiver in both of his seasons with the team, heading to the Pro Bowl in 2018 with 896 yards. Gotta give Lee Smith a shout out for his blocking prowess.

Tackles: LT Donald Penn. RT Khalif Barnes

2nd team: Jared Veldheer, Trent Brown

Left tackle was actually in pretty good hands for most of the decade. First with Jared Veldheer and then Donald Penn. The Raiders got a stroke of luck when the Buccaneers stupidly released Penn. They had just let Veldheer sign with the Cardinals as a free agent and Penn stepped right in and went to a couple Pro Bowls. And for as much crap as Khalif Barnes took, he was one of the steadiest presences on the Raiders Oline for years and certainly their best right tackle. The man signed seven one-year deals with the team and played a good bit of guard too when he was asked.

Guards: Kelechi Osemele, Gabe Jackson

2nd team: Cooper Carlisle, Mike Brisiel

Osemele was an All-Pro for the Raiders and Gabe Jackson has held down one of the guard spots for the team the past six years.

Center: Rodney Hudson

2nd team: Stefen Wisniewski

Hudson is not only the best center of the decade, but he is flat out one of the best Raiders players at any position. He just got named to his third Pro Bowl, and honestly it should be his fifth or sixth.

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One of the best things the Oakland Raiders did this offseason was revamping their offensive line. The team signed veteran Trent Brown to the largest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history which shored up the right side.

However, their best move of the offseason was convincing guard Richie Incognito to come out of retirement. Incognito started 12 games for the Raiders this season and played at a Pro Bowl level. On Monday, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that the team has agreed to a contract extension with the 36-year old guard.

Little player news during all the coaching news, the #raiders and @68INCOGNITO are agreeing to a contract extension.

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 30, 2019

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Incognito is now signed through the 2021 season as he received a new deal worth up to $14 million. That deal includes a little more than $6 million guaranteed that he will receive as a signing bonus.

With Incognito under contract, the entire starting offensive line should return for the Raiders in 2020. As long as they can stay healthy, that unit should continue to be one of the best in the league.

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The Oakland Raiders have officially finished their 2019 season, just missing the playoffs in the AFC. They won three more games than they did in the previous season, but were much closer to being a double-digit win team than anyone imagined.

In the final regular-season power ranking list by Pat Yasinskas of the Touchdown Wire, the Raiders come in at No. 1, smack-dab in the middle of the league. Take a look at Yasinskas’ thoughts on the Raiders in 2019 and going forward:

The Raiders entered the day needing a win against Denver and some help to make the playoffs. Neither happened, and their season is over. More significantly, so is their time as the Oakland Raiders. They’ll be the Las Vegas Raiders next season, and the future looks bright. In the second season of his second stint with the franchise, head coach Jon Gruden has his team headed in the right direction. He’s got a quarterback he likes in Derek Carr and a strong running back in Josh Jacobs. With those two in place, the Raiders are a team on the rise. They could be a serious playoff contender in their first year in Las Vegas.

While the Raiders did make a step forward this season, they will need to make an even bigger jump in 2020 in order to be a serious playoff contender. But with cap space, two first-round picks, and a young roster, that does feel plausible. Heading into the offseason, it appears that Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have the Raiders trending in the right direction.

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The NFL started keeping track of sacks as an official stat in 1982. A year later, Raiders rookie Greg Townsend had 10.5 sacks. That set a record that has stood to this day. Sunday in Denver, it came within an eyelash of being matched by Maxx Crosby.

On the Broncos’ second possession of the game, Crosby got in the backfield to sack QB Drew Lock. For a moment, it looked like Crosby would boost his team-leading sack total from 8.5 to 9.5, but the ruling was that he shared the sack with defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, bringing Crosby’s sack total to a clean 9.0 for the season.

Early in the fourth quarter, Crosby got in the backfield again, this time hitting Lock’s arm as he threw. For an instant, it looked like an incomplete pass, but the officials ruled it a fumble as Crosby got his arm just as he was moving it forward.

The Broncos recovered it and were given the first down, so everyone was wondering what the hell just happened and how a QB hit and forced fumble by the Raiders could result in a positive play for the Broncos. And, wait, isn’t that a strip-sack? There was no official word that it was being ruled a sack, which made it all the odder.

When the gamebook came out, the error was fixed and Crosby was awarded the strip-sack he earned, putting his season total at 10.0. And, hey, the Broncos would fumble two plays later, so all was in balance.

Crosby may have just missed the Raiders rookie record, but he hit double digits which is an accomplishment all itself. The fourth round rookie looks like the real deal, with a wingspan for days and a motor that never quits. He came closer than anyone else has in challenging the franchise record that has stood for 36 years. Aaron Wallace had 9.0 in 1990 which was previously the closest.

Oh, and Greg Townsend went on to put up 107.5 sacks in Silver & Black. Crosby is off to an equally impressive start.

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