The Black Hole Sun

Gibril Wilson just signed by Raiders!

The Raiders just signed Free Safety Gibril Wilson to a six year $39M deal with $16M signing bonus.  Wilson will resolve our FS problems and may improve the play of Huff.

This is the second huge, over paying, deal the Raiders have had in the last two days.  At one point the Raiders were a place players went to and took pay cuts to play there.  Now, we need to pay a 25% premium to get them in the door.  I can only imagine what we'll need to pay Berrian to come out here.  I expect another $18M signing bonus.  Ugh.  Well, it was nice being under the cap to start free agency at least once in this decade.  We won't see so much cap space for quite some time with this kind of spending going on.

Ebenezer Ekuban coming to town...

Ekuban is coming into town today to visit with the Raiders.  He will likely be a replacement for Clemons.  He tore his Achilles last year, but he is expected to be ready for 2008.  Denver is trying to retain Ekuban, so we would be swiping Ekuban right from the clutches of Shanny.

Barry Sims.... You're Fired.

The Raiders just released Barry Sims saving the team $200k.  This has been a long time coming.  Sims was one of the leagues worst left tackles for as long as we've had him.  Hopefully there is some master plan to resolve our LT situation.  My guess is that Kwame Harris fills that spot once we sign him.  Although the Harris hasn't been announced as a Raider officially, I doubt the Raiders would have cut Sims without a contract in place with Harris.

Porter and Clemons gone

Jerry Porter just signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chris Clemons is close to signing with the Eagles.  That was quick.  I was hoping we'd get Clemons back, but it was clear we couldn't pay him after emptying our wallet on Kelly.

Berrian coming to town...

Apparently Berrian left Minnesota without signing a contract.  The Vikings were pressing hard, so for him to leave is a great sign for us.  His agent was likely on the phone with Al Davis getting some assurances that the Raiders would pay more.  In any case, we should here about Berrian becoming a Raider by tomorrow (or becoming a Viking).  The Vikings have begun to pursue Bryant Johnson from Arizona after Berrian left, so they may end up moving on.

McFadden note....

This morning on SIRIUS Radio, Pat Kirwan mentioned that he ran into a Raiders coach recently in an airport.  He asked the coach if he had heard about McFaddens 4.27 second 40 time.  The coach hadn't, but he did say "Well, there's our pick." 

Laughing Stock of the NFL

It sure blows being the laughing stock of the NFL.  It was bad enough before the Kelly contract.  Now the Raiders are the butt of every joke when it comes to overspending.  Kelly was paid twice as much as he should have gotten.  I sure hope there is some creative accounting in that contract that makes it better for the team because I'm feeling sick about it.  The guys on SIRIUS radio are hacking on the Raiders at every turn.

McCown to Miami

McCown just signed with Miami on a two year contract.  There goes our backup QB.  It looks like Andrew Walter will be our saving grace if JaMarcus goes down.

Daily News

Not-So-Free Agency

Raiders Report: Inside Slant

Draft Prospects Series: RBs

After the Deadline

Digesting the Kelly Deal

Early Free Agency Musings

Kiffin: 'I Wasn't Dancing'

Big Money For Big Guy

Raiders Pony Up Monster Cash

Raiders Grossly Overspent on DT Kelly

Kwame Harris

The Sacramento Bee is hearing that the Raiders have interest in free agent OT Kwame Harris.  I guess being a bust on the 49ers wasn't enough of an indication that this guy blows.  At this point though, even he should be about to beat out Simms.  If we can sign him for a reasonable contract, let's see what he can do.