Oakland Raiders Should At Least Kick the Tires on A.J. Hawk
By Kevin Saito
Hey, did you hear that the Oakland Raiders are about to sign Jacoby Jones? Or that they’re going to pick up Brian Hartline? Or that they’re on the verge of acquiring Reggie Bush?
Clearly, when you’re a team that’s had as little success as the Raiders have had for the last decade plus, and has as many areas of need as the team currently has, it’s probably to be expected that Oakland would be connected to any and all high profile players currently on the open market.
While some of the names being connected to the Raiders make a certain amount of sense, and the team probably should at least kick the tires on, some others make absolutely no sense whatsoever and are clearly a case of the rumor mill working overtime.
Does any clear thinking person really believe that Reggie Bush will be a Raider in 2015?
But one name that the Raiders absolutely should kick the tires on though, is former Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk. Scheduled to make a modest $2.5 million this season, and coming off surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle, the veteran linebacker was cut by the team that made him the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft.
Though playing hurt for most of the 2014 season, Hawk played in all sixteen games for the Packers – starting thirteen of them – and was still highly productive, notching 94 tackles and half a sack. Some believe that Hawk has perhaps lost a step, but at 6’1”, 245 lbs., Hawk is still a potent run stuffer – an area the Raiders surely need improvement in – and displayed that he still has the quickness and mobility to be effective.
With middle linebacker Nick Roach expected to miss a second straight season – if not be forced into retirement – due to lingering concussion symptoms, the Raiders have a big hole to fill in the middle of their defense. A healthy Hawk could be a great help to the Oakland defense in 2015.
Oct 20, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk (50) warms up before game against the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Some might balk at Hawk’s age (31), and think that it continues the Raiders’ pattern of throwing money at fading stars, and it would be a valid concern. However, unlike the signing of say, LaMarr Woodley, Carlos Rogers, or any of Oakland’s other free agent busts, Hawk – though bothered by injury – still proved to be very productive in 2014. There is little reason to believe that with Hawk fully healthy in 2015, he won’t be again.
Though Oakland must definitely get younger at some of their key positions, Hawk provides possibly the best option in the middle of the defense for the team at this point. This year’s draft class is incredibly thin at linebacker and there aren’t any sure fire locks to be great. Certainly, there aren’t any sure fire locks to even be effective on day one. And there aren’t many other free agent options available at this point who won’t either be too pricey, or too ineffective at this point in their careers.
Given those two factors, bringing Hawk in – at least for a conversation – seems to make a lot of sense for the Raiders, a team in desperate need at the position.
With young standout linebackers like Khalil Mack and Sio Moore on the roster – and if they’re able to unearth a hidden gem in this year’s draft class – they could benefit tremendously from Hawk’s veteran presence. He might even be able to help Miles Burris learn to run the position effectively.
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The Raiders have a ton of cap space – by some estimates, it could reach as high as $60 million. And they have a mandate to use that space to meet the floor of the NFL’s salary cap. Even if they offer Hawk the same money he was scheduled to make in Green Bay, it won’t put a big dent in their payroll warchest.
For sure, Hawk is a short term solution and to find success, the Raiders must have long term answers. If Oakland can identify and draft a young linebacker – like say, Eric Kendricks – who can learn and grow with Mack and Moore, the Raiders would put them in position to have a dominant group of linebackers for some years to come.
But they also need to exist in the reality of the present. And the reality of the matter is that they need help in the middle – and they need it now. A.J. Hawk could potentially provide that help in the here and now.