Oakland Raiders: Free Agency Breeds Some Of The Most Terrible Ideas

The Oakland Raiders are making some strong, savvy moves during free agency – and are doing a great job of avoiding the crazy, nonsensical pairings people are forcing upon them.

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Free agency is sort of like – a relationship. There is of course, the initial interest – for our purposes, imagine Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie casting a meaningful glance across the room of eligible free agents who’d be great matches. There’s the initial flirtation, followed by the courtship, wooing, and if all goes well, the consummation of that relationship in the form of a signed contract – and hopefully, some beautiful championship memories as a product of that union.

Now, on the other side of that coin, imagine a friend of yours setting you up on a blind date, all the while insisting that the person they’re setting you up with is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But when you actually meet the person they’re trying to set you up with, you see that you have absolutely zero in common and that there might not be a worse pairing on this planet possible. Which of course, makes you realize that either your friend either A) doesn’t really know you at all or B) they’re just flat out batcrap crazy.

Welcome to the wonderful world of matchmaking during the NFL’s free agency period.

Today’s really terrible, horrible, no good, free agency matchmaking idea comes to us from John Laird of the NFL Spin Zone. In Laird’s view, the Raiders would be wise to pick up free agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Go ahead, take a moment to finish laughing hysterically and shaking your head. We’ll wait.

There are any number of reasons that Boldin to the Raiders doesn’t make sense. But in an effort to be fair and balanced – and before we list out some of the reasons it’s a terrible pairing – let’s hear what Laird has to say on the matter.

"“The former Florida State standout posted a 69 catch season that accumulated 790 yards and 4 touchdowns. That was with who throwing him the football? Blaine Gabbert? Boldin still has something left in the tank.The reason for that is Boldin doesn’t just play off of athletic ability like most of today’s receivers. He plays with intelligence and aggression, two things that are harder to lose than just pure speed. Boldin knows where to sit in zones and how to position his body against defensive backs in man coverage. He runs precise routes that make up for the speed that was never really there to begin with.”"

Go ahead and take a minute to digest all of those – ummmm – words. It would just seem disingenuous to call them pearls of wisdom, wouldn’t it?

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While it might be true that Boldin may have a little something left in the tank, there isn’t going to be much. He’ll turn 36 during the regular season and the numbers he posted in 2015 – the 69 catches for 790 yards and four scores that Laird trumpets so loudly as proof that Boldin is still a playmaker – are actually among the worst numbers in his career.

The 69 catches (on 111 targets) are the fourth lowest total of his career and the 789 yards are the second worst he’s posted (in 2004 he had just 623 yards). In addition to that, Boldin’s average yards per game slipped to 56.4 – also, the second worst of his career.

So, if having some of the worst numbers of his 13 year career counts as Boldin still having something in the tank then we stand corrected. His tank is apparently full.

Laird acknowledges that last year’s rookie phenom Amari Cooper as well as veteran Michael Crabtree are the one-two punch at the top of Oakland’s batting order in the passing game. The main thrust of Laird’s argument seems to be that Boldin will bring “proven leadership” to the team as well as providing Cooper with a mentor.

Laird goes on to say:

"“Sure, Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray are great players, but have any players on the Oakland Raiders’ roster led a team to a Super Bowl? No, Crabtree doesn’t count when San Francisco fought it’s way to the Super Bowl and lost to Boldin’s Ravens.”"

Oh, this is awkward – how do we put this without sounding too snide? Well, let’s just throw caution to the wind here because last we checked, Bruce Irvin, Malcolm Smith, Ken Norton Jr., and Jack Del Rio were all sporting Super Bowl rings. So, it’s not players and coaches with a championship pedigree this team is missing. To say that the Raiders have nobody that’s helped lead their team to a Super Bowl is just plain ignorant of the facts.

Nor is it veteran leadership. The Raiders currently have a number of veterans who can and will step into that leadership void created by Charles Woodson’s retirement – and they’ll need them all as they try to replace a high character, glue guy like Woodson.

Laird also seems to conveniently forget that in addition to Cooper and Crabtree, the Raiders are also going to have Seth Roberts back in the fold as their third option in the passing game. And if you remember, Roberts had a pretty decent season, hauling in 32 receptions for 480 yards, five scores and a boatload of memorable plays for the year. Yes, Roberts has room to grow still and flaws in his game to correct, but at just 25 years old, he’s still young and will get even better as he refines his game.

Oakland’s passing game is just fine. They may add another piece or two, perhaps through the draft, perhaps through an affordable free agent option. But in Cooper, Crabtree, Roberts, Mychal Rivera, and Clive Walford, Raiders QB Derek Carr isn’t hurting for weapons.

Next: Free Agents The Team Should Avoid

At his age, and with his skill set apparently dimishing, Boldin brings nothing to the table and would add nothing to Oakland’s offense. In terms of matchmaking, Boldin to the Raiders makes as much sense as – well – there might not be a fit that makes less sense, actually.

But hey, this is the free agency season, that magical time of year when folks try desperately to make those square pegs fit into the round holes. Thankfully, McKenzie seems to have eyes only for a few.

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