The Raiders need to find a running back to complement Latavius Murray, opines Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Bair lists Chris Johnson, Tim Hightower, Matt Forte, James Starks and Ronnie Hillman as potential fits through free agency.
Earlier tonight, PFR’s Rory Parks previewed the Raiders’ offseason in depth and, like Bair, named RB as a position the club could address. Click here for the rest.
More from the AFC:
- Reworking quarterback Joe Flacco‘s deal and cutting $9MM off his $28MM-plus cap hit for this year would go a long way toward helping the Ravens make improvements, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes. As of Wednesday morning, the Ravens and Flacco haven’t discussed a restructuring.
- The notion that Browns center Alex Mack has a clause in his contract preventing the team from placing the franchise or transition tag on him is untrue, according to Joel Corry of CBS Sports. Corry notes (via Twitter) that Mack does have a no-trade clause, though. The 30-year-old is expected to opt out of his current deal in the coming weeks and become a free agent.
- A pair of escalators affecting the Bills‘ salary cap have been triggered, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets (Twitter links). Tyrod Taylor‘s cap number this season has increased from $1.3MM to $3.3MM based on an escalator and how his ’16 playtime incentive is treated. Bills center Eric Wood also hit an escalator that increases his 2016 cap number by $650K.
- Out of their pending free agents, the Titans are prioritizing nose tackle Al Woods and tight end Craig Stevens, Terry McCormick of Cover32.com reports. Woods made a career-high nine starts last season. Stevens has been a Titan since 2008 and is discussing a new deal with the team, per McCormick.
- Chiefs backup quarterback Chase Daniel is scheduled for free agency, but the club has too many other needs to worry about investing a decent chunk of money in a reserve signal caller, writes Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Teicher believes it’s time for either Aaron Murray or Tyler Bray to step up and take over for Daniel as Alex Smith‘s top understudy. Although the two have been Chiefs for a combined seven years, neither has appeared in a regular-season game.
- In a Monday roundup of Ravens news and notes, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun discusses the possibility of the team trading down from the No. 6 pick, and reexamines the likelihood of cornerback Kyle Arrington being released.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
Roy Helu’s previous track record seemed to indicate solid qualifications to complement Murray, but some of these don’t make much sense, with Marcel Reece serving as the Raiders’ short-yardage back and rendering Tim Hightower irrelevant. Hillman’s lack of production in the passing game wouldn’t complement Murray too well, either, but Starks as a change of pace player would make sense. Has shown consistent ability and broke out somewhat as a receiver last season.
If the Titans don’t re-sign Stevens, I’ll bet he goes to Chicago and reunites with Dowell Loggains. The Bears could release or trade Martellus Bennett, move Zach Miller into the pass-catching tight end role, and use Stevens primarily as a blocker.