Oakland Raiders should take a hard pass on latest rumored FA target

The Oakland Raiders are gearing up for the start of free agency and the rumor mill is churning out one name the team should take a hard pass on.

With an abundance of needs, the Oakland Raiders figure to be players on the free agent market. Though, with less cap space than previous seasons, they may only be bit players.

With the most glaring needs on the defensive side of the ball, it would stand to reason the team would throw what resources they have there. Safety, cornerback, defensive tackle, linebacker, and an edge rusher – the Raiders need help on every level of the defense.

And while some of that is expected to be addressed when the NFL Draft gets underway, there are a number of intriguing options either on, or expected to hit the open market.

But, the rumor mill has been busy and is linking names with teams all over the place – whether the fit is good or not. In this case, the rumor mill is busy connecting the Raiders with tight end Tyler Eifert.

And in this case, the Raiders would be well advised to steer well clear of him.

Oh, this isn’t to say that Eifert isn’t talented and athletic. And it’s not to say that he isn’t a difference maker when he’s on the field – on the field being the key takeaway there.

When healthy and on the field, Eifert is a very athletic pass catching tight end. The high point of his career being the 52 catches for 615 yards and 13 touchdowns he put up in 2015. And let’s not forget the performance he put up against the Raiders that year, when he went off for 104 yards on nine catches and a pair of touchdowns.

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There’s a reason the Bengals made the six-foot-six, 250-pounder a first-round pick (twenty-first overall) back in 2013. Simply put, the guy can make plays.

However…

In Eifert’s five seasons in the league – out of a possible 80 regular season games – Eifert has made just 39 appearances, with 30 starts.

Eifert has yet to play a full season in his injury ravaged five-year career, and has appeared in just 10 games – with two starts – over the last two seasons combined.

Suffice it to say, that’s not nearly good enough. For this Raiders team to get back on the right track, they’re going to need guys who can stay on the field. And given their cap constraints this offseason, they can’t afford to throw money at a guy who’s missed more time than he’s played over his career.

For what it’s worth, Eifert is saying that he’s healthy and ready to roll.

"“If I didn’t think that I could get back to being a dominant player then yeah, I probably would. But there’s no question I can get back to where I’ve been. And as of now, everything is fixed.”"

If the Raiders are going to cut bait on last year’s free agent addition, Jared Cook (spoiler alert, they should), it will obviously leave them a little shorthanded at the position, with only Clive Walford and Pharoah Brown under contract. Though, it will also give them another $5 million dollars worth of flexibility under the cap.

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And this isn’t to say that Cook was bad last season. All things considered, he was pretty decent. He just wasn’t special. He didn’t elevate the offense and he never materialized as a legitimate red zone target – one reception for six yards and zero touchdowns.

In this day and age of Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, and the like, the Raiders need to get a tight end who can produce. Who can be a factor on the offense and give Derek Carr another viable target.

In addressing the tight end position, the Raiders can – and should – do a lot better than Eifert. He’s just too big of an injury concern to risk rolling the dice on.

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