Tag: Cody Whitehair

Raiders OL coach: Don’t discount addition of Cody Whitehair

Don’t discount addition of Cody Whitehair

Not every free agent addition a team makes is going to make waves. And not all of them will be expected to come in and upgrade a position. But, first of all, you just never know. And second of all, value comes in many forms.

Take Cody Whitehair for instance. Once upon a time he was very highly regarded as an NFL offensive lineman. The 56th overall pick in the 2016 draft made the Pro Bowl as a center in his third season.

That would earn him a lucrative long term extension with the Bears. He transitioned to left guard a couple seasons later. Injuries cost him five games in 2022 and last season he would lose his starting job ten games into the season.

The past two seasons he played under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who holds the same position with the Raiders now. That experience as well as his interior versatility make him an offensive line coach’s best friend.

“He’s been in this system for a while, he understands it,” said Raiders OL coach James Cregg. “We’re coaching it actually a little different way, a little different twist to it, and he’s been really engaging and learning it. But he’s an asset to the room as far as his knowledge, his work ethic. Really, really happy to have him here.”

Whitehair has been lining up with the first team offensive line at left guard while rookie second round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson recovers from a shoulder injury.

While the starting left guard job is probably earmarked for Powers-Johnson, having Whitehair there right now is invaluable. And, they may be better off with Whitehair in there at the moment regardless.

His experience in this system allows the offense to run smoothly while also offering his insight to help all the other lineman get used to the new scheme. And he can be a mentor for all the Raiders interior linemen, namely youngsters like Powers-Johnson and third year right guard Dylan Parham.

And, who knows, if he can show some of that talent that once had him highly regarded in this league, he should make the team and be a good spot starter if called upon.

Raiders have answer on right side of OL in 2022 draft classmates

Raiders have answer on right side of OL in 2022 draft classmates

As uncertain as it seemed the right side of the Raiders’ offensive line seemed to be this offseason, there wasn’t any uncertainty if you ask them. They had their guys already in the house.

Through the offseason so far, the first team right guard and right tackle spots have been manned by Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford respectively.

Both young linemen were selected by the Raiders in the 2022 draft. Parham was the team’s top pick in the third round and Munford a seventh round pick. And here they are entering their third NFL seasons with the inside track to be the team’s starters on the right side.

Parham had started at left guard since he was a rookie, but his offensive line coach James Cregg likes the former center better on the right side.

“Yeah, just watching him and doing what we’re doing, we run more wide zone and things like that and he’s just more natural, especially him being a center,” Cregg said of Parham’s move to the right side. “Sometimes centers are more natural being right-handed guys than they are left-handed guys for whatever reason, and he’s just more natural moving over there. And we just liked the way his footwork was better over there and things like that. The game was more natural for him over there, that’s why we moved him.”

With the Raiders plans to move Parham to the right side, it was the left guard spot that was actually open. To fill that spot, they drafted Rimington Award winner Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round and signed veteran free agent, Cody Whitehair. 

As of now, while Powers-Johnson works through a shoulder injury, it’s been Whitehair who has lined up with the first team. Whitehair comes over from the Bears where he played under Raiders new OC Luke Getsy and therefore makes a seamless transition along with the ability to help his new teammates learn the scheme.

With the guard spots figured out, that just left right tackle. Or so most thought. But when Cregg was asked whether Munford’s presence gave them the confidence that he was their starting right tackle, to which Cregg said “He did.”

“Especially watching the latter part of last year. He really jumped out at me a lot, and he’s been a good fit over there. His athleticism, he’s untapped. He’s still learning. He’s a raw football player. He’s still developing in my opinion. He’s getting better every practice. He’s getting more comfortable over there, but I think he’s – kind of like talking about Dylan [Parham] – he’s natural on the left, like you put him on the left he can totally do it. That’s what he did in college, he played both sides. He played more left than right, but he can go both directions. You saw it last year he can go step in for Kolton [Miller] when he needed to, and he’s been a pleasant surprise over there at right. He’s getting better too, so I’ve been really fired up about him.”

Munford split time almost equally between right and left tackle last season, first filling in for the injured Jermaine Eluemunor and then later for injured Kolton Miller. And, true to what Cregg said, Munford did his best work on the left side.

The thing you have to wonder though is whether that had more to do with settling in because he played LT later in the season.

Even with their faith in Munford, or at very least giving him every opportunity to be the starting right tackle, they used their third round selection on Maryland right tackle DJ Glaze. A pick that, at this point, seems like a good insurance plan in case things don’t go well for Munford. At which point Munford’s ability to play both sides would make him a viable reserve swing tackle.

Raiders veteran addition Cody Whitehair brings familiarity with Luke Getsy offense

Raiders excited about what Cody Whitehair brings to the offensive line room

All offseason, there seemed one lineman on the market who seemed like a natural fit for the Raiders and it was Cody Whitehair. The former second round pick had started nearly every game of his eight year career and yet was nowhere to be found among any of the top free agent lists.

This seemed odd to me, so I reached out to a Bears reporter to see if there was something I was missing and the response I got was basically that they we just as puzzled by it.

Whitehair had regressed of late, along with some injury issues. But the injuries were nothing major, and his level of play was at or above some other players teams had no issue letting hit the market. Mostly he was due some $10 million in salary, and wasn’t playing up to that level, so he was cut.

With the Raiders hiring former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to the same job, Whitehair seemed like a no-brainer signing. And as of the first report day, Whitehair is in the house, ready to help the rest of the Raiders line get up to speed in their new offense.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Andre James said Monday of having Whitehair onboard. “I was just talking the other day [about] some of the schemes and some of the other things that they ran. It’s always helpful having a guy who’s familiar with the offense, familiar with the scheme and the system especially in the offensive line room. Just to kind of pick his brain and get some of the keys and information that he’s gotten from the long time he’s been there working with the Bears. So, super excited to have him.”

Whitehair played left guard under Getsy in the Bears’ wide zone blocking scheme for two seasons. Prior to that he played both left guard and center for his first six NFL seasons in Chicago.

Seahawks getting visit from veteran free agent G Greg Van Roten

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two.

The Seahawks are in the market for a guard… or two. Last week general manager John Schneider told 710 Seattle that the team would be hosting a veteran offensive linemen or two, and earlier this week ESPN reported that the Seahawks were interested in free agent left guards Laken Tomlinson and Cody Whitehair.

Now we have reports of a meeting with yet another veteran free agent guard. According to Aaron Wilson, Greg Van Roten will be visiting today.

Van Roten (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) was originally undrafted out of Pennsylvania, but he’s gone on to a long career for a guard. All together he has appeared in 110 regular season games for five different teams, starting 71 of them.

Most recently Van Roten spent the 2023 season with the Raiders, where he put in over 1,000 snaps at right guard. PFF gave him a solid pass blocking grade (77.4) and a decent 68.5 run blocking grade for the year.

Now 34 years old, Van Roten is past his prime with the Panthers, but he should be relatively cheap in what’s been a wildly overpaid guard market this cycle. If he does sign, Van Roten would likely compete with second-year guard Anthony Bradford for the RG1 spot on the roster.

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According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, Seattle has shown interest in Laken Tomlinson and discussed bringing in Cody Whitehair for a visit.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider told ESPN radio last week the team would be bringing in a couple veteran free agent offensive linemen for visits. At the time he did not reveal who it would be, but we’ve since received word of the team’s interest in a couple linemen.

According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, Seattle has shown interest in Laken Tomlinson and discussed bringing in Cody Whitehair for a visit.

Tomlinson (6-foot-3, 323 pounds) was a first-round pick by the Lions back in the 2015 NFL draft. He played two seasons in Detroit, followed by five years with the 49ers and then two seasons with the Jets. All together he has appeared in 146 games, earning 138 starts. He has played his entire career at the left guard position, which happens to be Seattle’s greatest roster need.

Whitehair (6-foot-3, 316 pounds) was taken by the Bears in the second round of the following year’s draft. He spent the last eight seasons in Chicago, splitting his time between center and left guard.

Either one would answer a big question hanging over the team heading into the draft. However, right now the Seahawks only have about $2 million left in salary cap room for 2024 – and that doesn’t count what it will cost to sign their rookie class.

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15 free agent offensive linemen the Seahawks could consider signing

Here are 15 free agents who could be on the Seahawks’ list.

Seahawks general manager John Schenider told ESPN 710 radio last week that the team would be hosting a couple veteran free agent offensive linemen in this second phase of free agency. Schneider was not so kind as to include the names of the players who will be visiting the VMAC, presumably some time this week.

While we don’t know who, we can make some educated guesses. Based on what their roster looks like right now, we can probably assume the team is interested primarily in interior offensive linemen who have at least a few years of experience playing in the NFL.

For one thing, the team is already set at tackle with Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Stone Forsythe, George Fant and Raiqwon O’Neal rounding out the OT rotation. So, we’ll ignore tackles for now. The team does have a couple of options at center. However, neither of them have much experience at this level. So, we’ll include a few names there, but focus mostly on guards who are at least 26 years old. With those parameters in mind, here are 15 free agents who could be on the Seahawks’ list.

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10 best available free agents to fit Raiders needs

10 best available free agents to fit Raiders needs

It’s Friday, which means the end of the work week. It also means it’s been two work weeks since the free agent market opened for business. The Raiders handled their number one business, which was to land top free agent defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. His addition along with the return of Adam Butler and John Jenkins helped to solidify the definsive interior, but that still leaves them with plenty to do to get this team in good shape headed into the draft.

They have some $28.3 million in cap room with which to try and add some upgrades, competition, and insurance at several position still in need. And there is still some talent out there who could provide what they need.

This is the top ten free agents still on the market who could come in and fill a need position for the Raiders.

Top 5 offensive guard free agent options for Raiders

5 Guards set to hit free agency who could be just what Raiders need

The Raiders need at guard is two-fold. As in they are going to need two of them. With it increasingly appearing as if the Raiders will let center Andre James leave in free agency, that could signal they will finally be moving Dylan Parham to center, leaving both guard spots in need of a new starter.

It’s said to be a strong class along the offensive line, but in the interest of not using all their picks to fill the OL (they need a tackle too), they would do well to try and get a starter in free agency first and possibly an insurance plan as a potential second starter in case the draft doesn’t fall their way.

These are the top five options to fill those roles.

Bears cut two veteran starters for cap purposes who could interest the Lions

Chicago’s loss could be the Lions gain, especially on the offensive line

The Chicago Bears moved on from a couple of high-priced veterans who were entering the final year of their contracts. The Bear’s loss could be an interesting gain for the Detroit Lions.

Detroit’s NFC North rivals dumped safety Eddie Jackson and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair this week. The moves saved the Bears over $21 million in cap room for the 2024 season while adding just over $9 million in dead cap. Both were longtime starters and pretty good ones at that.

Jackson was once the highest-paid safety in the NFL, but he’s missed five games in each of the last two seasons and isn’t the All-Pro he was half a decade ago anymore. The 30-year-old can play any safety spot.

Whitehair is the more intriguing option for Detroit. The 31-year-old has over 100 starts between guard and center. His days as an upper-level starter are likely done, but for a team like Detroit that desperately needs interior OL depth, Whitehair would make a valuable veteran addition.

How Eddie Jackson, Cody Whitehair releases impact Bears’ salary cap in 2024

The Bears have released Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair. Here’s how it impacts the Bears’ salary cap in 2024.

The Chicago Bears have released safety Eddie Jackson and offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, who become the first salary cap casualties of the offseason for general manager Ryan Poles.

Jackson and Whitehair were among the longest-tenured Bears players on the roster. But the moves don’t necessarily come as a surprise considering their massive salary cap hits for the 2024 season ($18.14 million and $13.25 million, respectively).

So how do those cuts impact Chicago’s salary cap for the 2024 season?

The Bears cleared up $21.71 million in salary cap space with Jackson and Whitehair’s releases ($12.56 million for Jackson; $9.15 million for Whitehair, per Over The Cap).

Chicago now have $67 million in available cap space for the 2024 season — third most in the league, per OTC — with free agency just around the corner.

Jackson, a fourth-round pick by the Bears in 2017, totaled 459 tackles, 15 interceptions, 44 pass breakups, 10 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 14 tackles-for-loss and 2.0 sacks in seven seasons with Chicago. He also scored six defensive touchdowns, which is tied for the third-most in franchise history.

Whitehair, a second-round pick by the Bears in 2016, appeared in 124 games, including 118 starts, in eight seasons with Chicago. He spent his first three years at center before moving back to his natural guard position. Whitehair was named to the Pro Bowl in 2018.

Safety is expected to be a top priority this offseason for the Bears after Jackson’s release. They’ll look to free agency and/or the NFL draft to find a running mate for starter Jaquan Brisker. The interior offensive line will also be a focal point following Chicago’s struggles to find a reliable starting center.