Oakland Raiders: With Pickings Really Slim, A Few Options At Linebacker
By Kevin Saito
Perry Riley Jr.
Riley is the most obvious choice to fill the need at the position. Picked up off the street last year, Riley started to pay dividends almost immediately. While he wasn’t what most would call dominant, Riley certainly was the most productive and effective at the position than most anybody the Raiders have had in quite a while.
In eleven games last season – all starts – Riley notched 48 tackles (38 solo) with two forced fumbles and a pass defensed. He provided steady leadership and some grit in the middle of that defense. While they still weren’t great, they were certainly much improved with Riley in uniform.
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Despite his performance last year though, McKenzie was content to let him walk away as a free agent without seeming to put up much of a fight. Maybe McKenzie was on to something, because a market for Riley never developed, and he still remains at-large and unsigned.
Given his familiarity with the system, the fact that he hasn’t been in camp or through the exhibition schedule with this team, shouldn’t prevent Riley from making a seamless transition back into uniform should McKenzie opt to sign him.
And given the youth the Raiders have in their linebackers room – Lee, and Morrow are rookies, Adams has less than a full season of experience on the field (he was promoted to an active roster for the first time in late November last year), and James is entering is second year – Riley’s veteran presence, along with Irvin’s, could have a positive mentoring effect on this unit.
Money could potentially be the sticking point here. The Raiders don’t have a lot – and still need to work a deal with Donald Penn. But if they wanted to go that way – and they should – the team should be able to scrape enough together to entice Riley back into the fold.