Oakland Raiders: McKenzie’s 5 “Riskiest” Moves So Far This Offseason
By Kevin Saito
Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oakland Raiders safety Brandian Ross (29) and cornerback T.J. Carrie (38) against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Raiders 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Giving the Reins To Their Young Corners
For many, it was one of the more curious moves this offseason for McKenzie and the Raiders – the decision to let Tarell Brown walk away without attempting to re-sign him.
Of the tandem McKenzie signed away from the San Francisco 49ers last season – Brown and Carlos Rogers – only Brown really panned out. Brown played pretty well over the course of the season, and performed at a high level for the Oakland defense.
But McKenzie allowed him to to walk away, and is turning the reins of the secondary to a couple of very young, very un-tested corners in D.J. Hayden and Travis Carrie.
Both Hayden and Carrie showed some flashes of brilliance last season, but both have had some difficulty staying healthy – especially Hayden. Since being selected high in the 2013 draft, Hayden has appeared in just 18 of the team’s 36 games over that time span. Carrie only started four games in 2014, but did appear in a total of 13 of the team’s 16 games.
Letting the veteran walk away, and entrusting the corners to younger, largely untested and unproven players is easily the riskiest move McKenzie has made so far this offseason.
And if either Hayden or Carrie can’t stay healthy, or they are unable to perform at a high level, it’s the move that will bite McKenzie in the butt the hardest because it will create a disaster in the defense. A disaster they can absolutely not afford.