Raiders GM Mike Mayock has been discussing a new contract with the agent for center Rodney Hudson, according to head coach Jon Gruden (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Review Journal). Currently, Hudson is slated to reach free agency after the end of the 2019 season. 
“We consider him a big piece of this franchise,” Gruden said. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep him here a long time.”
Hudson is set to earn a base salary of $8.25MM this year with a $10.017MM cap number. With a slight pay bump in his next deal, Hudson could easily wind up as one of the ten highest-paid players at his position. Currently, Mitch Morse, Maurkice Pouncey, Ryan Jensen, Brandon Linder, Weston Richburg, Travis Frederick, Matt Paradis, Alex Mack, and Justin Britt rank ahead of Rodney in terms of average annual value.
Last year, Hudson graded out as the fourth-best center in the NFL, trailing only Jason Kelce, Paradis, and Mack. The soon-to-be 30-year-old also earned Pro Bowl nods in 2016 and 2017.
He deserves every penny he’s about to get which will likely be the top paid center in the league.
I like this guy. He is a pro. Pay the man the big buckies like right now.
“We consider him a big piece of this franchise,” Gruden said.
Chucky must have been coached there because normally he would say something funnier like “Hudson is a rock.”