Oakland Raiders: Breaking down the Richie Incognito signing

The Oakland Raiders have officially signed controversial offensive guard Richie Incognito to a one-year contract. Here’s a brief breakdown of everything you need to know.

The Oakland Raiders have made it clear that they have no issues adding players to their team with prior instances of character concerns. The likes of Antonio Brown and Vontaze Burfict were added to the roster this offseason — now it looks like Richie Incognito is set to join the fold.

A four-time Pro Bowler, Incognito has made more headlines throughout his career for his character scandals and off-field mishaps than his actual playing ability. Perhaps most well known for his part in the bullying scandal involving former Miami Dolphins teammate Jonathan Martin, Incognito hasn’t exactly earned a pristine reputation around the league.

After sitting out of football for the entire 2018 season, Incognito ran into some trouble with the law having been placed in police custody after an incident in a funeral home in August of last year. This came only a few months after he was placed on an “involuntary physiatric hold” following an altercation at a Florida fitness club.

We’re not going to go into detail about what happened nor is this article intended to take a stance on what occurred. Incognito is a member of the Oakland Raiders now. This is a football fact and we will analyze this from a football perspective.

The Raiders made a few changes to their offensive line this offseason — most notably signing former New England Patriots tackle Trent Brown to the highest-paid offensive line contract in the league. Brown is expected to assume the everyday right tackle job pushing 2018 third-rounder Brandon Parker to the bench after he struggled throughout his rookie campaign.

However, another significant change came when the team decided to deal former Pro Bowl left guard Kelechi Osemele to the New York Jets just ahead of the start of free agency. This left the team with a vacancy at the position.

Former Indianapolis Colts lineman Denzelle Good was expected to be the favorite the win the starting job coming out of training camp after starting three games in place of Osemele last season. The aforementioned Parker along with veterans Denver Kirkland and Chaz Green were expected to be in the mix as well.

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But now, it looks like there should be a new favorite for the starting job.

Incognito reportedly impressed in workouts with the team and it’s unlikely the team signed him intending for him to be a reserve. The former Buffalo Bills lineman was at one point one of the most feared offensive linemen in the NFL — for more than one reason — and offers plenty of starting experience.

Still, it’s fair to question how much he still has left in the tank. Incognito will be 36-years-old at the start of the 2019 season and is coming off of a 2018 season in which he didn’t participate in organized football.

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It’s safe to assume that there will still be a competition at the left guard position come training camp and the preseason — even if Incognito remains the overwhelming favorite. In a corresponding move, the Raiders opted to release the aforementioned Green meaning that there’s one less lineman competing for the spot.

In all likelihood, the job is Incognito’s to lose but if he struggles, the Raiders could still send Good or even Parker out there to start Week 1. But if you were putting money on it, Incognito would be the safe bet.

Character concerns aside, the Raiders offensive line could be vastly improved in 2019 and there should be no more excuses for offensive line coach Tom Cable going forward.

Here’s to hoping that Incognito could stay on the straight and narrow and help make the Raiders offensive line one of the best units in the league again.