Oakland Raiders Wisely Parting Ways With LaMarr Woodley
By Kevin Saito
And just like that, the LaMarr Woodley experience in Oakland is over.
While it doesn’t quite have the same newsworthy gusto of say, a Darnell Dockett, a Reggie Bush, or even a Tyvon Branch being cut, the Oakland Raiders are set to part ways with Woodley according to reports. It’s a move that isn’t unexpected, but it’s one that is very wise for a team trying to get younger and is building on the fly.
Reggie McKenzie brought Woodley in last season as the aging defensive end looked to prove he still had something left in the tank and could resurrect his career. Needless to say, the experiment didn’t work out and any questions about the 30-year old defensive ends ability to compete at an NFL level will likely only be intensified.
After being cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers, McKenzie jumped on Woodley, signing him to a two year deal worth $12 million. Cutting Woodley now will save Oakland a little more than $5 million this season, pushing their space underneath the cap to nearly $60 million dollars, and perhaps more importantly, doesn’t create any dead money against their payroll.
In hindsight, it’s easy to criticize McKenzie’s signing of Woodley in the first place. It looks even worse when you consider the fact that before he was injured, the Raiders got just six games from Woodley in which he amassed an underwhelming total of five tackles and zero sacks. But Oakland was desperate for a presence on the defensive edge – not to mention some veteran leadership – and in eleven games for Pittsburgh in 2013, Woodley collected five sacks, pushing his career total to 57.
Sep 21, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end LaMarr Woodley (58) during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
At just 29 years old, it wasn’t a huge leap of faith to believe that Woodley still had something to offer a defense that had been struggling as mightily as Oakland’s.
Mckenzie rolled the dice on Woodley and unfortunately for him, and for the team, it just didn’t work out. He was never able to provide the defensive presence and production Oakland needed.
And so, after one season, Woodley is reported to be on his way out of the Bay Area, free to look for work elsewhere.
Now that the Raiders are apparently set to part ways with Woodley, the question becomes, what is the next step for the team?
Lucky for Oakland, this year’s draft is deep with edge rushers. They will have the chance to snatch up top prospects like Randy Gregory, Dante Fowler Jr., Shane Ray, and Vic Beasley. All showed up big at the recently concluded NFL Combine and look to have the talent and skills to be the elite edge rushing talent the Raiders currently lack, and desperately need.
The common wisdom – as expressed by countless talking heads and their mock drafts – have the Raiders targeting either Amari Cooper or Kevin White with their first round pick in the draft. But it would be unwise to rule out the possibility that McKenzie – and perhaps, more importantly, Jack Del Rio – would select an edge rusher with that fourth overall pick.
Del Rio is a defensive minded coach and firmly believes that defenses win championships. Because this year’s draft is also rich with receiving talent, there is a very strong case to be made for the Raiders to pursue a receiver on the free agent market – Randall Cobb or Jeremy Maclin anybody? – adding talent and depth through the later rounds of the draft.
While there is a strong class of free agent receivers about to hit the market, the class of difference making edge rushers is relatively weak. The only way the Raiders will get a potent defensive front that can get after the quarterback is going to be through the draft.
So, perhaps by releasing Woodley, the Raiders are unintentionally giving a subtle indication of their plans moving forward. Or perhaps, they’re simply parting ways with an aging star who truly doesn’t have anything left in the tank.
Only time will tell.