5. CB Prince Amukamara
This addition is so new, it has yet to be officially announced by the team. But that doesn’t make it any less of a great signing. I would argue he’s a better addition than their near signing of Eli Apple that fell through back in early April.
Amukamara sat on the market for two months, sure, but sometimes good players have to wait for the right situation to sign on to a team.
It’s been ten years since the Giants made him the 19th overall pick in the draft. As it happens, the 30-year-old figures to start at cornerback while mentoring Raiders’ rookie cornerback Damon Arnette.
The selection of Arnette at No. 19 shocked a lot of people. Obviously the Raiders see things differently, but just to be sure, Amukamara can step in and allow Arnette to ease his way into the lineup in much the same way Trayvon Mullen did last season when he took over as the starter midseason with the team trading Gareon Conley to the Texans.
4. QB Marcus Mariota
I absolutely love this signing. After weighing all the quarterbacks headed for free agency this offseason, even before they made the deal, Mariota made so much sense it simply had to happen.
The former number two overall pick had lost his starting job last season to Ryan Tannehill, who, as it happens, saw his former team give up on him and trade him away. Tannehill was a great fit for the offense in Tennessee. Mariota was not. He is a fantastic fit for Gruden’s offense.
This doesn’t mean Mariota is a lock to start. Far from it. But what the Raiders couldn’t do at this point was bring in another pack of obvious backups for Derek Carr, who has not done enough to show he is the long term answer for this team.
Carr looks great in practice, so it will not be easy to unseat him if that’s all you have to go off of. Then again, recently former teammate Logan Ryan has some great things to say about how Mariota performs on the practice field and how he made the defense better. So, Carr will have his work cut out for himself to hold Mariota off.
This team needed a legit competition at quarterback and they’ve got one.
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