Rodney Hudson - Pro Football Rumors

Raiders Remove 4 O-Linemen From Reserve/COVID-19 List

October 25th, 2020 at 7:45am CST by Sam Robinson

Oct 25: Saturday’s COVID-19 tests for Miller, Good, Hudson, and Jackson came back negative, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). All four will be available for the Raiders’ battle with the Bucs this afternoon.

Oct. 24: As of Saturday afternoon, the NFL has avoided another major schedule issue. Sunday afternoon’s Raiders-Buccaneers game is a go, and the hosts could well be better equipped to pull an upset.

The Raiders removed offensive linemen Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson from their reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. The team had placed its other four starting O-linemen on the list because they were deemed high-risk close contacts of Trent Brown, who tested positive for the coronavirus this week.

Brown will miss Sunday’s game, but his blocking mates are on track to play. However, they will not be officially cleared to do so until their Saturday coronavirus tests come back clean, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The team will obtain that information Sunday. Its four non-Brown O-line starters receiving clearance will certainly help Las Vegas’ cause against a Tampa Bay defense ranked first in DVOA through six games.

Recently signed defensive lineman David Irving is also set to make his Raiders debut. Reinstated from an 18-plus-month suspension just last week, Irving signed with the Raiders as a practice squad player. The Raiders will see what the former Cowboys starter can do beginning Sunday. Irving, 27, has not played since the 2018 season, when he saw action in only two games, and has been suspended four times by the NFL. In 2017, however, the interior pass rusher notched seven sacks in just eight games (all starts).

NFL Moves Raiders-Bucs Game; Raiders Under Investigation For COVID-19 Compliance

October 22nd, 2020 at 2:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

2:56pm: The players the Raiders sent home from the team’s facility Wednesday — Abram, Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson — will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. These players now qualify as high-risk contacts of Brown and will need to isolate for five days. Their last contact with Brown was Monday, however. That would allow these players — barring a positive test — to play Sunday, though it will sideline them from practice this week. Still, this development probably points to the NFL needing to postpone this game to Monday or Tuesday.

One good sign: no new positive tests emerged from Wednesday’s round of testing, Pelissero tweets. But the issues the Patriots and Titans experienced with the coronavirus illustrate the Raiders have not necessarily turned a corner here.

2:36pm: The NFL is preparing to move the Raiders-Buccaneers game off its Sunday slate, it appears. The league announced Thursday it will shift Bucs-Raiders from a primetime slot to 3:05pm CT Sunday. Seahawks-Cardinals will now be Sunday’s primetime game.

Positive COVID-19 tests for Trent Brown and Damon Arnette have put the Raiders’ Sunday status in jeopardy. Additionally, the NFL and NFLPA are investigating the Raiders for COVID-19 compliance, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

The league has video of Brown and other Raiders offensive linemen congregating without masks, Pelissero adds, and Brown is not believed to have consistently worn his tracking device. He is now on Las Vegas’ reserve/COVID-19 list, and none of the other Raiders told to isolate — the rest of their starting O-line and safety Johnathan Abram — have returned to practice.

This has obviously clouded Sunday’s game. The Raiders have already had their bye week, giving the NFL another major test in this COVID-19-altered season. Brown is asymptomatic, per Pelissero (video link).

The NFL has shifted a few games around this season, but it has thus far avoided postponing a team’s game after a bye week. Las Vegas’ bye came in Week 6. Were the Raiders to see their Week 7 contest postponed to a later date, the league would run into logistical issues getting that contest scheduled. The rumored Week 18 makeup window remains in play, though the league has been able to avoid serious discussions of implementing it. A Raiders postponement beyond Tuesday would push that issue back to the forefront.

Thursday’s schedule change is not the first time the Raiders have run into COVID-19-related trouble. Jon Gruden was issued a six-figure fine for mask violations in September, and Darren Waller‘s charity event last month featured Raiders seen without masks. For now, the league expects Bucs-Raiders to take place in a lower-profile time slot Sunday. But the schedule change makes it easier for another postponement to commence.

Raiders Place Trent Brown On Reserve/COVID-19 List

October 21st, 2020 at 5:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ahead of a nationally televised game against the Buccaneers, the Raiders are set to be without their Pro Bowl right tackle. They placed Trent Brown on their reserve/COVID-19 list, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Per the NFL’s new coronavirus protocols, Brown must isolate for five days. That will shelve him for Sunday night’s game. Brown had just returned from an injury that caused him to miss almost all of Las Vegas’ first four games. He came back in Week 5 to help the team to a key upset in Kansas City.

Because of contract tracing, the Raiders will use a strange collection of offensive linemen in practice for the time being. They sent home the rest of their current entire first-string offensive line — Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson — after the Brown news. Jon Gruden hopes this quartet can return by Thursday, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Having not been placed on the COVID list, the other Raiders first-string blockers would be able to do so. These players’ last contact with Brown came Monday, per the Washington Post’s Mark Maske (on Twitter). Even if they are deemed high-risk close contacts, they would be able to play Sunday — so long as they do not test positive.

The Raiders also sent starting safety Johnathan Abram home, Gutierrez tweets. They used Sam Young, Patrick Omameh, Andre James, rookie John Simpson and former second-round pick Brandon Parker as their first-string O-line in practice Wednesday. Brown, who signed a then-record tackle contract with the Raiders in March 2019, also missed five games last season but became the rare right tackle Pro Bowl selection.

The Brown news comes a day after the Raiders placed cornerback Damon Arnette on their reserve/COVID-19 list. Individuals do not need to test positive to land on this list, only to be in close contact with someone who has. The upcoming rounds of tests will be critical for the Raiders and the NFL.

Raiders Restructure Rodney Hudson’s Deal

April 1st, 2020 at 8:30am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have some extra room to work with in 2020, thanks to Rodney Hudson. On Wednesday, the center agreed to convert $11.6MM of his base salary into a completely guaranteed roster bonus to carve out $9.28MM in additional space, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

As part of the revised deal, Hudson will add two void years to his deal. In essence, this changes very little for the multiple time Pro Bowler while allowing the Raiders to kick the can down the road a bit with regards to the salary cap. Hudson’s deal – the “real” part of it – runs through 2022.

After spending his first four seasons with the Chiefs, Hudson joined the Raiders on a five-year, $44.5MM free agent deal in 2015. Last summer, he inked a three-year, ~$34MM extension to reset the market at his position. Since joining the Raiders, Hudson has started in all 76 of his games en route to three Pro Bowl nods. Last year, he graded out as the league’s No. 13 ranked center but he’s placed much higher in the past.

True to the Las Vegas spirit, the Raiders have already spent plenty of cash this offseason by signing free agents like linebackers Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and edge rusher Carl Nassib. Now, they have even more coin for the later FA waves, both before and after the draft. And, as of this writing, they hold two first round picks and five of the first 91 overall picks.

AFC West Notes: Mahomes, Lock, Harris, Raiders

November 1st, 2019 at 6:08pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is questionable for Kansas City’s upcoming game against the Vikings, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Mahomes, of course, was injured on Thursday Night Football of Week 7 against the Broncos during a quarterback sneak. In a freak incident, Mahomes dislocated his right kneecap.

He returned to practice just six days after the injury, but was quickly ruled out for last Sunday’s game against the Packers. While his status is still up in the air, Rapoport reiterates “At the least, he is considered to have a shot to play.” At 5-3, Kansas City has some breathing room in the AFC West divisional race. However, the chances of a high seed and a first-round bye would be greatly diminished the longer they have to stick with backup Matt Moore.

Here’s more from around the AFC West:

While quarterback Brandon Allen is currently next in line for the Broncos after Joe Flacco‘s injury landed him on injured reserve, the team plans to play rookie second-round pick Drew Lock in Denver’s final two games against the Lions and Raiders, according Mike Klis of 9News. Flacco was diagnosed with a disk injury in his neck that requires at least six weeks to recover. Given the Broncos 2-6 record, the team decided to shut down the veteran for the season. Allen is in his fourth NFL season, but has yet to appear in a regular season game.
After weeks of trade rumors, Broncos cornerback Chris Harris could be staying in the mile-high city beyond this season, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. With three young daughters and a fourth coming soon, Harris told Jhabvala he was “Definitely relieved and happy to be able to finish the year here.” The news comes as somewhat of a surprise given Harris’ tumultuous relationship with the organization over the past few seasons. However, according to Jhabvala, the team’s new coaching staff has meshed well with the upcoming free-agent.
Both Raiders centers Rodney Hudson and Andre James are listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Lions. They both are dealing with ankle injuries and managed to practice, but according to head coach Jon Gruden, both were “sore.”

Raiders C Rodney Hudson To Miss Time

October 30th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Raiders center Rodney Hudson is expected to miss time while dealing with an ankle injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Hudson isn’t the only Oakland center sidelined by an ankle issue — backup Andre James is also battling a sprain, and he too could miss the Raiders’ Week 9 game against the Raiders. If neither Hudson nor James can play on Sunday, veteran left guard Richie Incognito will likely slide to center and play the pivot for the first time since 2010, tweets Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. Fellow center Erik Magnuson, signed earlier today, may also be in contention to start in the middle of Oakland’s front five.

Hudson isn’t going on injured reserve, an indication the Raiders don’t believe his injury to be a long-term issue. But there’s no question the veteran center’s presence will be missed for however long he remains sidelined. Oakland, which has a 21% chance of earning a postseason berth per FiveThirtyEight.com, already had its bye in Week 6, so there’s no free week for Hudson to get healthy late in the season.

Midway through his ninth NFL campaign (and fifth in Oakland), Hudson is still playing like one of the NFL’s best centers. Through seven starts, Hudson grades as the league’s third-best pivot, per Pro Football Focus, which ranks Hudson as the NFL’s No. 2 pass-blocking center behind only Cleveland’s J.C. Tretter. As a unit, the Raiders’ offensive line ranks top-four in both pass-blocking and run-blocking, according to Football Outsiders‘ adjusted yards metrics.

Raiders, Rodney Hudson Agree To Extension

August 30th, 2019 at 1:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders and center Rodney Hudson have agreed to a long-term contract extension, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). When completed, it’ll be a three-year, $33.75MM extension that will make him the NFL’s highest-paid center, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The pact includes $24.4MM in guarantees, Pelissero adds, but the guarantee-at-signing amount is likely less than that.

“We consider him a big piece of this franchise,” head coach Jon Gruden said when asked about the possibility of a new deal earlier this summer. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep him here a long time.”

Prior to the add-on, Hudson was set to earn a base salary of $8.25MM in 2019 with a $10.017MM cap number. He was also outside of the ten highest-paid players at his position. Before the extension, Mitch Morse, Maurkice Pouncey, Ryan Jensen, Brandon Linder, Weston Richburg, Travis Frederick, Matt Paradis, Alex Mack, and Justin Britt were among those to rank ahead of Rodney, in terms of average annual value. Now, he’s surpassed all of them.

Last year, Hudson graded out as the fourth-best center in the NFL, trailing only Jason Kelce, Paradis, and Mack. The 30-year-old also earned Pro Bowl nods in 2016 and 2017.

Raiders Discussing Rodney Hudson Extension

June 11th, 2019 at 2:08pm CST by Zachary Links

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.

West Notes: Bradford, Raiders, Chiefs

April 27th, 2018 at 1:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals gave Sam Bradford a hefty deal to be their starting quarterback in 2018, but that’s no longer a certainty after their selection of UCLA’s Josh Rosen in the first round.

“We got Sam to be our starting quarterback and I would still say that is the case,” coach Steve Wilks said when asked if Bradford will be the starter (via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). “I’m very excited about Josh … what he can bring. Every position is open for competition.”

The selection of Rosen marked the first time in 12 years the Cardinals drafted a quarterback in the first three rounds. They also gave up third- and fifth-round picks in order to advance to the No. 10 pick for him.

Clearly, the Cardinals believe that the future is very bright for Rosen, but he is also regarded by some as the most NFL-ready of any QB from this draft class. For Rosen and Arizona, the future could be the present.

Here’s more from the West divisions:

The Raiders converted $7.085MM center Rodney Hudson’s 2018 base salary into a bonus, creating $5.668MM in cap space, a league source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move had to be made in order to make room for the Raiders’ draft class as well as the acquisition of wide receiver Martavis Bryant.
Due to the Raiders already paying Seth Roberts his $2MM roster bonus, the slot target’s $2.25MM 2018 salary is fully guaranteed. Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets there are also incentives in Roberts’ deal — $150K for 45 receptions and another $150K if he eclipses his career-high mark (43 grabs last season) by a bigger margin and reaches 65 — and adds that Roberts may not be easy to move despite this draft featuring a less-than-stellar wideout contingent. But Oakland is trying to do so. Roberts has been Oakland’s primary slot man since the 2015 season, but his work has been consistently maligned by Pro Football Focus.
The Chiefs did not have a first-round pick on Thursday, but they did try to trade into the back end of the first round, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes. “I was (tempted),” GM Brett Veach said. “We make calls. But if you were to ask me, what were the odds of getting into round one, I would have said they were very low. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. We certainly had dialogue from (picks) 27 to 32. But it had to make sense for us, both now and in the future. It never got close.” The Chiefs traded their first-rounder to the Bills for the right to select Patrick Mahomes last year.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report.

AFC Notes: Browns, Jackson, Broncos WR’s

December 22nd, 2017 at 10:06pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Browns are in serious danger of joining the 2008 Lions as the only teams to go 0-16 in a single season. Cleveland will take on the Bears and Steelers before the dust is settled, but will be moving forward with a new head football man in John Dorsey.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com answers a variety of questions in a video addressing many different questions swirling around the franchise. One question she touches on is how quickly of an impact Dorsey will have on the field? While Cabot did say that it will take some time to turn around the franchise, one thing Dorsey will emphasize is finding that franchise quarterback that the team has been craving for a long time. Cabot states that just like with the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo, if the Browns can find their guy this offseason, there could be a dramatic shift in the long-term outlook of the organization.

The Browns will likely hold the first overall pick so they could be faced with a choice regarding Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen should both draft eligible QB’s turn pro this offseason.

Here are more stories coming from the AFC:

While the Browns do have a new decision maker in Dorsey, head coach Hue Jackson remains a bit in-flux. While the team’s owner has expressed his desire to keep the veteran coach, there could be an added twist in this story because of the division rival Bengals, states Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Pluto opines that should Jackson replace the embattled Marvin Lewis, that would allow Dorsey to put his own coach in place, leaving his relationship with owner Jimmy Haslam in-tact. Bengals owner Mike Brown seems to like guys he’s worked with in the past, so Jackson seems like a reasonable possibility, even given his 1-29 record in Cleveland.
The Broncos are very much playing out the string of this season with a number of different QB’s given injuries and poor play. However, the wide receiver position has taken a hit over the past week, according to Mike Klis of 9news.com. Klis notes that Denver could only have four wideouts active against the Redskins in Week 16. Demaryius Thomas, Bennie Fowler, Jordan Taylor and Isaiah McKenzie are the only healthy receivers available and could lead the team to serious depth problems should one of them go down this weekend. Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer are both listed as questionable and really have no reason to be pushed given that the Broncos are not in the playoff race. Expect the team to rely on the running game in order to keep their receiving corps healthy on Sunday.
Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has not been 100% since he suffered a concussion and an ankle injury vs. the Broncos a few weeks ago. The third-year wideout has been inconsistent while on the field this season, but said after practice on Friday that he “felt all right” and is “still working through” the injuries, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). He remains questionable to play for Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Gehlken also passed along that four Raiders missed practice today, including: CB David Amerson (foot), C Rodney Hudson (ankle/illness), DL Treyvon Hester (ankle) and TE Clive Walford (concussion/neck) (Twitter link).