Oakland Raiders: McKenzie making moves, may not be making team better

The Oakland Raiders had a quiet first day of free agency, but got to work on day two with a flurry of moves – but, are those moves making the team better?

With limited cap space, the Oakland Raiders didn’t figure to be major players when the free agency window opened this offseason. With the big, high-dollar names coming off the board on day one, day two of free agency has seen GM Reggie McKenzie dip his toes in the water and make a small flurry of moves.

The question that should be asked though is this – are McKenzie’s moves making this team better?

When McKenzie and HC Jon Gruden jumped on Jordy Nelson about half a second after he was released by the Packers, you had to figure something was afoot. With speculation about Michael Crabtree‘s status going from definitely cut, to definitely staying, to anybody’s guess, all offseason long, it’s all been up in the air – despite Gruden saying Crabtree was in the team’s offensive plans.

But, when Gruden and McKenzie rolled out the red carpet for Nelson, meeting with him over Wednesday and Thursday, you knew it spelled the end of Crabtree’s tenure in Silver and Black.

It’s a move that, quite frankly, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Nelson is older. Slower. And like Crabtree, had a down year in 2017. Both receivers though, can attribute much of their slip in production to problems at the quarterback spot.

Nelson had to deal with Aaron Rodgers being out for nine games last year. Crabtree dealt with a down year by Derek Carr, who was dealing with an offense desgined by Todd Downing – somebody who shouldn’t be trusted to draw up plays for the local Pop Warner team.

Prior to Downing’s disastrous installation as offensive coordinator, Crabtree, in tandem with Amari Cooper, had been pretty prolific, hauling in 174 passes for 1,925 yards, and 17 touchdowns over that two-year span.

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If you’re going to find fault in Crabtree’s production in 2017, then you also have to find fault with Cooper, who struggled mightily as well. For the year, Cooper had 48 receptions (Crabtree had 58) for 680 yards (Crabtree put up 618 yards), and seven touchdowns (Crabtree had eight scores).

It looks even worse when you consider that of Cooper’s 48 receptions, 11 of them came in one game, as did 210 of his 680 receiving yards, and two of his touchdowns – Oakland’s week seven matchup with the Chiefs.

Some will undoubtedly point to Crabtree’s drops as a factor in his release. No question, he had plenty of drops. But, so did Cooper – and has since his days back at Alabama. Seth Roberts dropped his fair share of passes. So did Jared Cook. And yet, they’re all still on the roster. At least, for now.

Some will point to his attitude problems and scuffles with Aqib Talib. Yeah, he could be an absolute knucklehead at times – as his running skirmish with Talib highlighted. But, so is Marshawn Lynch – who went to aid and comfort the enemy, Marcus Peters, during Oakland’s game with the Chiefs. And yet, Lynch also remains on the roster. Also, at least for now.

And also, Talib is no longer in the AFC West, having been traded to the Rams, so that obstacle has been cleared from the path.

Others will point to the rumors about Crabtree being divisive in the locker room. Okay, but those same rumors encompassed Cook, Lynch, and Cordarrelle Patterson. And yet, they remain on the roster. Again, at least for now.

So, what is the real reason for the team cutting Crabtree? It’s not salary, since the nearly $8 million he was scheduled to make has now essentially been passed on in Nelson’s, two-year, $15 million dollar deal – with, according to reports, has $13 million guaranteed dollars.

The addition of Nelson doesn’t make the team better. He’s older and slower than Crabtree, and he doesn’t have the established chemistry and rapport with Carr that Crabtree already has. The Carr to Crabtree hook-up has been one of the league’s most potent over the last couple of seasons.

To be fair, adding Nelson to Oakland’s receiving room doesn’t make the Raiders worse – it just doesn’t make them better. It’s a lateral move. At best.

McKenzie also added a running back to the group when the team signed Buccaneers castoff Doug Martin to a one-year deal – a signing that may possibly further cloud Lynch’s future with the team. Unless it doesn’t, of course.

Martin’s career has been up and down, to say the least. He burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2012, running for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns. He missed ten games the following year, and five in 2014, but rebounded in 2015 with a 1,402 yard, six touchdown season in which he played all 16 games.

After signing a fat contract extension prior to the 2016 season (five-years, $37.5 million), Martin proceeded to play in just 19 games the last two seasons (missing four while serving a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy), and has rushed for 827 yards on 282 carries (a woeful average of 2.9 yards per carry), and six touchdowns – combined.

Though Martin has two outstanding, 1,400 yard seasons to his credit, the simple fact is that in the other four seasons of his career, he’s failed to make it to 500 yards. And outside of his rookie year, he only played a full slate of games once – in his contract year.

Mostly, on the strength of his two (out of six) outstanding seasons in the league, Martin has a career 4.0 yards per carry average, has rushed for 4,633 yards, and 26 touchdowns. He’s also added 1,091 receiving yards on 130 catches, and a pair of scores.