Raiders extend TE Darren Waller (3 years, $51M)

[drfrey13]

Going to come down to the guaranteed money and if he maintains his abilities.  He deserves the pay as long as he can continues to play at a high level.

[ronjon1990]

1 hour ago, Jeremy408 said:

It's awesome. But it means that this is the team we have to win with. We can't dish out any more money. Which means we HAVE TO draft well going forward. 

Yep, 100%. 

By all accounts, Munford is making some early waves. 

If Farrell and Butler both come along too, that would be 5 of 6 future starters from the first Zeigler/McDaniels class. Honestly, if only 2 or 3 of them pan out, it's a good start considering we didn't start picking until 90 and they all look like quality depth at the very least. 

We piled up a few 23/24 picks via trades over the summer too. Gonna be interesting to see what we do with them in terms of board hopping. So far, I've been largely impressed by the current regime's vision and willingness to get adventurous. 

[Darbsk]

Am I the only one a little nervous that the money is a bit much for a guy that may be falling off in a couple years and has been frequently troubled with injuries recently?? 

Maybe the actual real life money is very different due to guarantees etc. but I’m a little nervous about this.

[NYRaider]

38 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

Yep, 100%. 

By all accounts, Munford is making some early waves. 

If Farrell and Butler both come along too, that would be 5 of 6 future starters from the first Zeigler/McDaniels class. Honestly, if only 2 or 3 of them pan out, it's a good start considering we didn't start picking until 90 and they all look like quality depth at the very least. 

We piled up a few 23/24 picks via trades over the summer too. Gonna be interesting to see what we do with them in terms of board hopping. So far, I've been largely impressed by the current regime's vision and willingness to get adventurous. 

I just pray to god that we address the offensive line this offseason. 

[NYRaider]

Just now, Darbsk said:

Am I the only one a little nervous that the money is a bit much for a guy that may be falling off in a couple years and has been frequently troubled with injuries recently?? 

Maybe the actual real life money is very different due to guarantees etc. but I’m a little nervous about this.

Meh, he'll be making less then David Njoku and I think with Adams in the fold Waller will get less targets and that'll keep him fresh as the season goes on. 

McDaniels is arguably the greatest play caller in NFL history when it comes to getting his TE involved, Waller is probably the most physically gifted TE he has ever coached. 

[Darbsk]

1 minute ago, NYRaider said:

Meh, he'll be making less then David Njoku and I think with Adams in the fold Waller will get less targets and that'll keep him fresh as the season goes on. 

McDaniels is arguably the greatest play caller in NFL history when it comes to getting his TE involved, Waller is probably the most physically gifted TE he has ever coached. 

True, but because he’s so physically gifted is precisely why he may drop off quickly just when his extension kicks in. Maybe the structure is easy for us to get out of but I worry about two things:

Will his health and physical skills hold up over the next couple years?

Will he be worth it with a finite amount of touches to go to Adam’s, Renfrow and the anticipated RB pass usage?

The answer to both those might well be yes but I’m not as sold as I was with the Adam’s deal for example.

 

[NCOUGHMAN]

He earned deserves it

[Jeremy408]

52 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

Yep, 100%. 

By all accounts, Munford is making some early waves. 

If Farrell and Butler both come along too, that would be 5 of 6 future starters from the first Zeigler/McDaniels class. Honestly, if only 2 or 3 of them pan out, it's a good start considering we didn't start picking until 90 and they all look like quality depth at the very least. 

We piled up a few 23/24 picks via trades over the summer too. Gonna be interesting to see what we do with them in terms of board hopping. So far, I've been largely impressed by the current regime's vision and willingness to get adventurous. 

Right. It's really going to come down to how well do we build underneath the roster we have right now. The chances are we're not going to resign eIuminor even if he starts all 17 games this season. The same goes for Rock ya sin. 

As far as the new regime being adventurous, TBH I'm actually more surprised about their humility. They knew that they inherited a roster that had a lot of key positions already intact so he focused on just paying everyone. Ziegler knew if they drafted in the first round as new GM it could be hit or miss and could turn a lot of the fan base against him. So he swallowed his pride and traded his first and second day for a bona fide star. The only real piece that they actually added was Davante Adams. 

I think though just as important as knowing who not to pay. Yannick if he had another 10 to 12 sack season would've commanded around 18 to 20,000,000 in 2023. .So what this new regime did was they traded him for Chandler Jones who they had to pay 17 million but because of his age it's never going to get higher than that and there is even opportunity for a restructure later on as he ages allowing for us to build behind him. 

A lot to like about the Current situation

[ronjon1990]

6 minutes ago, Jeremy408 said:

Right. It's really going to come down to how well do we build underneath the roster we have right now. The chances are we're not going to resign eIuminor even if he starts all 17 games this season. The same goes for Rock ya sin. 

As far as the new regime being adventurous, TBH I'm actually more surprised about their humility. They knew that they inherited a roster that had a lot of key positions already intact so he focused on just paying everyone. Ziegler knew if they drafted in the first round as new GM it could be hit or miss and could turn a lot of the fan base against him. So he swallowed his pride and traded his first and second day for a bona fide star. The only real piece that they actually added was Davante Adams. 

I think though just as important as knowing who not to pay. Yannick if he had another 10 to 12 sack season would've commanded around 18 to 20,000,000 in 2023. .So what this new regime did was they traded him for Chandler Jones who they had to pay 17 million but because of his age it's never going to get higher than that and there is even opportunity for a restructure later on as he ages allowing for us to build behind him. 

A lot to like about the Current situation

To clarify, by adventurous, I meant around the draft board and making moves that could raise eyebrows (trading Mullen to AZ, ditching Leatherwood, etc). 

We moved around the board a good bit on draft day and really capitalized on what options we had, imo. 

As for the other roster moves, I found them ballsy. They knew Leatherwood wasn't cutting it and got rid of him. Moved Mullen. Most regimes would probably hesitate to house clean young recent draft picks based on "what if he pans out". They didn't. They cut the cord as soon as reasonable to build their own thing. 

[SilverNBlackFan]

Congrats to Waller. 

[Jeremy408]

34 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said:

To clarify, by adventurous, I meant around the draft board and making moves that could raise eyebrows (trading Mullen to AZ, ditching Leatherwood, etc). 

We moved around the board a good bit on draft day and really capitalized on what options we had, imo. 

As for the other roster moves, I found them ballsy. They knew Leatherwood wasn't cutting it and got rid of him. Moved Mullen. Most regimes would probably hesitate to house clean young recent draft picks based on "what if he pans out". They didn't. They cut the cord as soon as reasonable to build their own thing. 

I don't really think any of those are eyebrow raisers though.

Mullen was on the last year of his deal and got surgery right before summer and had seen no action since the beginning of last season. I think once the new staff found out that Hobbs could play outside that kind of sealed his fate. 

Leatherwood was a little bit of a gamble just because no one knew if he was gonna get claimed so the assumption was that he would be our responsibility to pay. What as a player once it was decided that he could only play guard it made no sense to keep them for that price. But even then I'm getting rid of Leatherwood I don't consider Balsy just because of the fact that it was pretty clear that there were better options both for the immediate and the future on the roster currently. It look like the way they approach that situation is can he play right tackle or not. It was that simple

Really both of those(along with getting rid of Drake for the cheaper option Abdullah) were just good business moves. 

 

[agarcia34]

 

[BayRaider]

4 minutes ago, agarcia34 said:

 

Fantastic structure. Means we can cut him if he shows regression after the 2023 season. 

Honestly the Carr and Waller contracts were done fantastically. There is literally zero risk with either contract. Carr can be cut after this year and Waller cut after 2023 if they don’t perform. Obviously not likely to happen, but it’s great to have that flexibility. 

I honestly think our best shot to win a Super Bowl will be 2023, next season. In 2024 our two offensive stars are going to be up there in age…. Waller will be 32, Adams 31. We need a good draft next year and shoot for the moon next season. 

[RaidersAreOne]

Love the structure. Can get out of the contract with ease in a matter of a couple seasons.

[Darbsk]

15 hours ago, BayRaider said:

Fantastic structure. Means we can cut him if he shows regression after the 2023 season. 

Honestly the Carr and Waller contracts were done fantastically. There is literally zero risk with either contract. Carr can be cut after this year and Waller cut after 2023 if they don’t perform. Obviously not likely to happen, but it’s great to have that flexibility. 

I honestly think our best shot to win a Super Bowl will be 2023, next season. In 2024 our two offensive stars are going to be up there in age…. Waller will be 32, Adams 31. We need a good draft next year and shoot for the moon next season. 

Agree with this, this gives a bit of reassurance and a safety net for the team. As you say, flexibility is key because you never know what’s round the corner. You might be right about 2023, this years draft picks will be seasoned by then too so guys like Butler, Zeus and Mumford may be good contributors by then.