Raiders reportedly plan to extend Richie Incognito in the offseason

The Oakland Raiders are reportedly interested in re-signing left guard Richie Incognito in the offseason after an impressive season from the veteran.

The Oakland Raiders managed to do something in one offseason that many teams in the NFL could only dream of doing. They took an offensive line that was one of their biggest detriments last season and transformed it into a true strength of the team in one offseason.

And while more than half of the league struggles with poor offensive lines, the Raiders now reap the benefits of some stellar offseason moves.

While the attention has undoubtedly been placed on the signing of right tackle Trent Brown and the emergence of left tackle Kolton Miller, there has been perhaps no more impactful move than the signing of Richie Incognito.

And it seems as though the Raiders are aware of that as The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reports that the team is looking to extend the grizzled veteran in the offseason.

The Raiders made the controversial move to sign Incognito in the offseason after he was out of the NFL all of last season. Once one of the premier offensive linemen in the league, Incognito ran into his fair share of off-field issues throughout his career.

From the Jonathan Martin bullying scandal to an incident in a gym to a funeral home arrest, Incognito hasn’t exactly earned a squeaky-clean reputation. But the Raiders had also made it clear that they weren’t afraid of taking chances on players with off-field drama in their past.

And while that ideology may not have worked out with players like Antonio Brown and Vontaze Burfict, it certainly has with Incognito.

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At 36-years-old, Incognito is playing some of the best football of his career and is one of the leaders of a much-improved Raiders offensive line.

Since missing the first two games of the season because of a suspension, the former Buffalo Bills guard has allowed just one sack and excelled in run blocking. Pro Football Focus has given him a 74.3 grade for his play this season which ranks among the better guards in the league.

It’s incredibly impressive that Incognito has been able to keep up this level of play not only given his age, but also given the fact that he hadn’t played since 2017 before this year.

Only three currently active offensive linemen are older than Incognito, Donald Penn, Jason Peters, and Andrew Whitworth. And there are only around 30 or so active players who have played in the NFL for longer.

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And it’s safe to say that most of them aren’t playing at as high of a level as Incognito.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Raiders will not be able to partake in extension talks until after the season ends since Incognito was signed to a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum.

But barring any sudden change in plans, Incognito should be with the team when they move to Las Vegas next year.

It isn’t surprising that the Raiders want to bring Incognito back next season and while he obviously isn’t the long-term solution at left guard, he’s proven to be a huge improvement over the oft-injured Kelechi Osemele and clearly has plenty left in the tank.

And with an abundance of holes on the roster to fix in the offseason, it’s at least encouraging to know that the Raiders should have one less hole to fill at left guard.