Tag: Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders sign fifth-year veteran starting CB Ken Crawley

Raiders sign fifth-year veteran starting CB Ken Crawley

The same day the Raiders brought back cornerback Nevin Lawson on a one-year deal, they added another cornerback to the roster. The team has signed former Saints and Dolphins starting corner Ken Crawley on a reserve/future contract.

Crawley was most recently with the Dolphins, where he appeared in four games with two starters before being placed on injured reserve. Since Crawley was released from IR prior to the end of the season, he was eligible to be signed to a reserve/future contract as soon as the season was over.

The 6-1, 180-pounder was originally undrafted out of Colorado and signed with the New Orleans Saints. He made the roster out of camp and by his second season, he had become a full-time starter.

In total, he started 23 games in three full seasons in New Orleans. He had been signed to a one-year deal the following offseason, but was waived after just one game active and claimed by the Dolphins.

Crawley has 134 combined tackles (121 solo), 31 pass breakups and 1 interception in 43 appearances and 25 starts.

The team also added defensive end Kendal Vickers on a reserve/future contract.

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Darren Waller to honor Raiders tight ends coach Frank Smith at Coaching Corps ‘Game Changer’ Awards

Darren Waller to honor Raiders tight ends coach Frank Smith at Coaching Corps ‘Game Changer’ Awards

One of the most inspiring stories of the 2019 NFL season was that of Raiders tight end Darren Waller. A supremely gifted athlete whose NFL career nearly never happened due to substance abuse problems. He went from an NFL afterthought to putting up elite-level numbers in a few month’s time.

While we talk a lot about the player himself or the offense Jon Gruden runs as being primary factors in such a performance, often times the work of the tight ends coach goes unrecognized. Waller intends on giving Smith the credit he deserves tonight at the 6th annual Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards ceremony.

The event will support Coaching Corps’ mission to provide youth from low-income communities access to caring and well-trained coaches. The Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards features top Bay Area professional athletes celebrating the profound influence of coaches on their lives and the community.

The presenters are all prominent Bay Area athletes whose lives have been shaped by the mentorship and transformative influence of caring coaches.

  • Eric Paschall, Golden State Warriors forward, will honor Villanova head coach Jay Wright
  • Arik Armstead, San Francisco 49ers defensive end, will honor his high school coach Joe Cattolico
  • Stephen Piscotty, Oakland A’s outfielder, will honor his father Michael Piscotty
  • Ron Wotus, San Francisco Giants coach, will honor his high school coach John McKiernan
  • Darren Waller, Oakland Raiders tight end, will honor Raiders tight ends coach Frank Smith

Waller has spoken openly about his struggles to kick his drug addictions that plagued him over the first four years of his NFL career which included him being suspended for the entire 2017 season. The world was introduced to his story in this year’s Hard Knocks which was held in Raiders training camp in Napa.

The former sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech was a highly promising prospect. He nearly squandered several opportunities afforded him by the Baltimore Ravens who drafted him and ultimately found himself on the team’s practice squad.

Late in the 2018 season, Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson convinced Gruden to give Waller a shot, so the team signed him off the Ravens’ practice squad and inserted him into the lineup for the final four games of the season. He impressed with his athleticism, but that was never in question.

What Waller needed was support, stability, and mentorship. He got that from Frank Smith.

Smith was added to Gruden’s staff in 2018 and was credited in part with helping Jared Cook have his best season as a pro at the age of 31.

Cook left in free agency to sign with the Saints, and the Raiders allowed it to happen because they saw big things for Waller. It was the kind of faith Waller probably wasn’t not expecting considering his NFL career arch so far.

Waller rewarded the Raiders’ faith in him with the second-best single-season numbers by a Raiders tight end in franchise history. Waller caught 90 passes for 1145 yards and 3 touchdowns, second only to Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce among tight ends.

Along with Waller’s breakout season, the Raiders got surprising contributions from rookie tight end Foster Moreau who had 21 catches for 174 yards and whose 5 touchdowns was second on the team despite missing the final three games to injury. It was Moreau’s talent that had the team let go of veteran tight ends Lee Smith and Luke Willson.

Throw in Derek Carrier, and the Raiders have plenty of versatility at the tight end position to run Gruden’s offense. That group was a highlight for the Raiders last season and Frank Smith deserved a shout out for his work in their emergence. He gets one tonight.

For those hoping to watch the Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards, presented by Levi’s®, they will be airing Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. on NBC Sports Bay Area.

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Raiders bring back CB Nevin Lawson on one-year deal

Raiders bring back CB Nevin Lawson on one-year deal

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And the trivia answer to who the first player ever signed by the Las Vegas Raiders is: Nevin Lawson. On Thursday, the Raiders announced they have signed Lawson to a one-year extension.

The six-year veteran cornerback returns to the Raiders for a second season after appearing in 11 games in 2019, starting five of them.

A fourth-round pick (133rd overall) out of Utah State in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, Lawson has appeared in 74 contests with 59 starts over his career. He has defended 30 passes in his career but has yet to record a single interception, which is… kind of amazing, really.

Lawson was suspended for the first four games of last season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He made his first appearance for the Raiders in Week 7 and got his first start in Week 11 after some shuffling in the secondary due to the team trading away Gareon Conley, safety Karl Joseph being lost for the season and other injuries including to nickel corner Lamarcus Joyner and Daryl Worley.

Four of Lawson’s five passes defended came in the team’s Week 16 win over the Chargers.

Lawson will once again start next season on the suspended list as he was slapped with a one-game suspension for using his helmet as a weapon on the second-to-last play of the season finale in Denver.

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3 players the Raiders must re-sign before free agency

3 players the Raiders must re-sign before free agency

The 2020 offseason is right around the corner as NFL teams have already begun to make plans for free agency. But before Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden can start to think about which players they may target on the open market, they must decide which of their own players needs to be retained.

Luckily for the Raiders, they don’t have many key contributors that are expected to hit the free-agent market. But there are a few players who need to be brought back.

1. SS Karl Joseph

After selecting Johnathan Abram in the first round of the 2019 draft, many assumed that it signaled the end of Karl Joseph with the Raiders. However, Joseph proved to be a valuable asset to the team once again, creating plays whenever he was on the field.

With the recent struggles of Lamarcus Joyner, the Raiders would be wise to hold onto Joseph. After a disappointing start to his career, Joseph has been phenomenal over the last two seasons, when he’s healthy.

Given his physical nature and ability to play both in the box and as a free safety, Joseph is someone the team would be wise to hold onto as his best football is still likely ahead of him.

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Raiders RB Josh Jacobs led NFL in broken tackles in 2019

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs led NFL in broken tackles in 2019

Despite missing three games during his rookie season, it’s hard to make a case that Josh Jacobs wasn’t one of the league’s top running backs last season. In 13 starts, Jacobs averaged over 100 yards from scrimmage per game and he was arguably the Raiders’ best player.

One of Jacobs’ best attributes is his ability to shrug off contact. His motor runs hot all the time, which results in him gaining additional yardage that most back wouldn’t get. According to Pro Football Focus, no running back in the NFL broken more tackles than Jacobs during the 2019 season.

Jacobs has a violent running style, which could cause his prime to be shorter than most running backs. However, he has already shown that he can be a workhorse back that can carry an offense against top-flight defenses. Look for the Raiders to ride Jacobs even more in 2020 as they aim to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

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Raiders QB Derek Carr looks forward to taking ‘every snap’ at new Allegiant Stadium until he’s ‘done’

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr plans to make Allegiant stadium his home away from home.

The Raiders officially became the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, and it was a sight to behold. A ceremony outside a burgeoning Allegiant Stadium represented a monumental change for an iconic franchise.

But one thing about the Raiders that seems to never change is the supposedly precarious quarterback situation. With coach Jon Gruden having gutted most of the roster since taking over in 2018, replacing it with his own, hand-selected players, veteran QB Derek Carr is often the subject of rumor.

Will Carr go? Or will he stay? And how about the Raiders’ two first-round draft picks? Will the quarterback-crazed Gruden become sold on a young prospect and toss the progress he’s made with Carr out the window, favoring a player with a higher ceiling? Or, might the Raiders acquire another veteran to take Carr’s place?

Carr, while playing a starring role at the Raiders’ ceremony, made it clear that he plans to be in Las Vegas — not only for the first snap at Allegiant Stadium but for every snap.

“I’ll say it this way: I look forward to taking the first snap in that stadium, and I look forward to taking every snap from here on out — until I’m done,” he said, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.

Carr acknowledged the most recent Raiders QB rumor, which started when NFL QB Tom Brady was photographed chatting with team owner, Mark Davis at a UFC fight on Saturday. To Carr, it’s just the nature of the business.

“Especially when people are seen with certain people,” Carr said, per Gutierrez, addressing the Brady rumor. “It’s like, ‘Oh, gosh. Well, I was at dinner with [Davis] last night. Does that count for anything?’ Golly. It’s just funny.”

Carr is clearly the man for now. General manager Mike Mayock told The Athletic’s Vic Tafur that Carr improved in 2019, his second with Gruden. Mayock also said, however, that he’s evaluating every position, including quarterback.

That statement will leave the door wide open for more speculation surrounding Carr. Will he stay, or will he go? Carr doesn’t have the luxury of pondering that question, and he clearly aims to make Allegiant Stadium his home away from home until he rides off into the Vegas sunset.

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Breaking: Las Vegas Raiders now official for 2020 season and beyond

Though the Raiders didn’t need to make their name change official until the start of the league year March 12, they got a jump on that. Just 23 days since they played their last game as the Oakland Raiders, the club held a press conference in front …

Though the Raiders didn’t need to make their name change official until the start of the league year March 12, they got a jump on that. Just 23 days since they played their last game as the Oakland Raiders, the club held a press conference in front of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to announce they are now officially the Las Vegas Raiders.

With several current and former Raiders players on stage bookending Mark Davis, and Allegiant Stadium construction workers front and center, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak took the stage to open things up.

“I Steve Sisolak, Governor of the state of Nevada, do hereby proclaim January 22, 2020 as the day to celebrate the renaming of the Las Vegas Raiders.”

Following leading the crowd in a chant of “Raiders!”, he posed Mark Davis and the official certificate signifying the name change. Then Mark Davis spoke.

“The Raiders were born in Oakland and played 13 seasons in LA. Both cities will always be part of our DNA. But today we begin a new chapter in our storied history. For today, January 22, 2020, we are now the Las Vegas Raiders. And today Las Vegas officially becomes out Nation’s capital.”

Shortly after the season, the Raiders removed “Oakland” from their team’s website. It said simply “Raiders” the past three weeks. It now reads Las Vegas Raiders, as does their social media accounts.

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2020 NFL mock draft database: Rounding up predictions for Raiders top picks ahead of Senior Bowl

All the college bowl games are done, the underclassmen have made their declarations as to who is declaring for the draft and Senior Bowl week is in full swing. Which means it’s also deep into mock draft season. Now that there’s a pretty good sample …

All the college bowl games are done, the underclassmen have made their declarations as to who is declaring for the draft and Senior Bowl week is in full swing. Which means it’s also deep into mock draft season.

Now that there’s a pretty good sample size of mock drafts, it’s time to round them up to see what the consensus says about who the Raiders will take in the first round.

This year they have two picks in the first round — their own at pick 12 and the Bears pick at 19. Let’s see what the different mock drafts are predicting they will do.

Date Source Pick 1 (12) Pick 2 (19)
Jan 22 Sporting News (Iyer) Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina
Jan 22 CBS Sports (Trapasso) CJ Henderson, CB, Florida Laviska Shenault, WR, Colorado
Jan 22 Walter Football Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 22 Drafttek Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 22 Draft Network (Solak) Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 22 Tankathon Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 21 NFL.com (Jeremiah) Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Patrick Queen, LB, LSU
Jan 21 CBS Sports (Wilson) Jordan Love, QB, Utah State Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama
Jan 21 Sports Illustrated (Hanson) Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 21 Draft Diamonds (Talbot) Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina
Jan 21 SB Nation (Kadar) Jerry Jeudy, WR. Alabama Jacob Eason, QB, Washington
Jan 21 Athlon Sports (Fischer) Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 20 Newsday (Klopsis) Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Jan 20 Draft Network (Marino) Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 20 Raiders Wire (Anania) Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama
Jan 17 Walter Football (Campbell) Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU
Jan 16 CBS Sports (Edwards) Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Jan 16 USA Today (Middlehurst-Schwartz) Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina
Jan 16 The Athletic (Brugler) CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma
Jan 15 Fox Sports (McIntyre) Ceedee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Bryce Hall, CB, Virginia
Jan 14 For The Win (McKenna) Jordan Love, QB, Utah State Xavier McKinney, CB, Alabama
Jan 14 The Big Lead (Phillips) Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Jan 13 Draft Wire (Easterling) Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Dec 30 Bleacher Report (Miller) Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama
Dec 30 Pro Football Focus (Renner) Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina

Most picked players in order: Kenneth Murray (9), CeeDee Lamb (8), Jerry Jeudy (5), Tee Higgins (5), Isaiah Simmons (4), Javon Kinlaw (4), Jordan Love (2), and Kristian Fulton (2)

Most picked positions: Wide receiver (21), Linebacker (15), Quarterback (4), Cornerback (4), Defensive tackle (4)

Picks on offense: 25

Picks on defense: 23

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Instagram fan poll ranks Raiders top free agents: Keep vs Walk

Instagram fan poll ranks Raider’s top free agents: Keep vs Walk

Quite a few notable Raiders players are headed for the free-agent market this March unless the Raiders keep them in house. They kept their top three guys off the market already, locking up Darren Waller, Richie Incognito, and Denzelle Good for next season. But there are still many more.

We thought we’d reach out to our Instagram community to see who they think the Raiders should hold onto and who they think they should let go. So, now let’s rank them based on those poll results.

  1. Karl Joseph 88% KEEP
  2. Dion Jordan 83% KEEP
  3. Benson Mayowa 79% KEEP
  4. Will Compton 78% KEEP
  5. Daryl Worley 68% KEEP
  6. DeAndre Washington 64% KEEP
  7. Jalen Richard 63% KEEP
  8. Josh Mauro 53% KEEP
  9. Dwayne Harris 66% WALK
  10. Nevin Lawson 72% WALK
  11. Isaiah Crowell 74% WALK
  12. Mike Glennon 93% WALK

I ranked them by priority recently (you can see those here). That list had Denzelle Good atop it just before he was locked up. The other two players I put as top priorities were Dion Jordan and Daryl Worley, who fans seem to agree are at least the top five among players the Raiders should keep.

Mayowa had his best season as a pro as a situational pass rusher, so obviously having him back would be great. Compton was a great find at middle linebacker, although the Raiders have not shown much in the way of eagerness to bring back middle linebackers even when they step up for them.

Joseph was great before he was injured, but I could see him seeking a starting job elsewhere with the Raiders sticking with Johnathan Abram and Erik Harris. But obviously, you’d like to see Joseph back, if possible.

Washington and Richard are ranked appropriately, I think. They’re borderline keepers. Harris is a great return man and special teams guy in general, but a season lost to injury and 32 years of age and fans seem to have moved on. Lawson was on a one-year deal and did not earn another. And Glennon…woof.

Not sure what Isaiah Crowell did to deserve such a high percentage of those wanting him to walk. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry for the Jets in 2018 and was only let go when they broke the bank to sign LeVeon Bell.

If he can get healthy, the 27-year-old will be a solid performer for someone. Though I suppose there is no attachment with Raiders fans considering he was injured in the offseason.

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2020 NFL Draft to take place on the water at Bellagio in Las Vegas

The 2020 NFL Draft will be held in Las Vegas, with the staging taking place on the water of the famous Bellagio fountains.

The 2020 NFL Draft will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, with festivities taking place from April 23 to April 25.

The NFL’s decision to host in Las Vegas comes as the Raiders are set to relocate there for the 2020 season, at Allegiant Stadium.

However, the draft is not being held at the Raiders new stadium, but rather on the water of the famous Bellagio fountains. Draft prospects will be transported via boat to the main stage during the ceremony.

“We are excited to partner with the NFL and the Raiders for our first major event together in Las Vegas,” said Steve Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “Our destination prides itself on creating unforgettable and epic events and experiences and we believe the 2020 Draft will be among the most thrilling events Las Vegas has ever hosted. We look forward to welcoming hundreds of thousands of NFL fans to our world-class destination on April 23.”

The Seahawks are projected to have eight picks in the upcoming draft, with five picks already guaranteed and three compensatory picks projected by Over the Cap.

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