5 Surprising Moves by the OAK Raiders in 2018

[Jerry]

11 hours ago, Baggabonez said:

Put (Crabtree) at the #2 receiver position and draft another receiver in the early rounds or sign a #1 receiver.

1) This is a very weak draft for WRs. With such a serious void at DE, ILB and LT (Penn can't play forever) you're suggesting going WR early. If that WR were develop slowly surely it would put RM&co on the hottest of seats with so many holes.

(Lynch) is only getting better as the season goes on and if the trend continues there will literally be no reason why we should release him. 

2) You're assuming that what will be a 32 yo expensive RB will continue to ascend . . . . .but that's what we do. While elite organizations, like the Patriots, are always calculating when to trade, release or waive players to maximize efficient. Well, we should hold on until we are assured every drop in the gas tank is gone.

Hue Jackson isn't coming back.

3) Highly unlikely but the entire purpose of being "surprising" is to think outside of the box. I could have done "5 Expected Off-season Moves" and just regurgitated all the moves we all want to happen but never do and you then you can "cut-n-paste" the same comment over and over.

Regarding Crabtree, I don't think it's going to happen either.  I was just saying that it would benefit the offense to get another really good receiver.  I honestly hope we draft DE/DT/ILB/CB before going offense at all.  As for Lynch, I'm just talking about next year.  I think he'll be even better next year.  But most likely drop off after that.  I honestly hope we find his replacement in the upcoming draft.  I don't expect him to be worth much after next season.  I'm sure that's why we only signed him to a 2 year deal.  As for Hue Jackson, he isn't coming back.  But I wouldn't mind him coming back as offensive coordinator.  I liked him.  Even if he was a little crazy.

[Baggabonez]

10 hours ago, Darbsk said:

Enjoyed reading those Baggbonez and some very interesting speculation. I would be very surprised if any of those moves came to be apart from #1 - I think apart from losing the locker room JDR is safe for another year and has credit in the bank from breaking the long playoff drought last year. It would be very interesting to see what Hue Jackson could do as I always rated him as an OC who was brave and unconventional and much like yourself, think he's a much better OC than a HC. Of course, I don't actually think he's coming back but he could potentially work wonders with this offence IMHO.

Thank you for your comments. Over the years you've always been introspective and reasonable. Yeah, I tried to put these in descending order of probability. The least likely being:

The Raiders sign WR Terrelle Pryor
Why this is a surprise: Many of us were always under the impression that eventually Pryror's true position was that of WR. However, when he finally decided to convert he choose to return to Ohio. It is unknown whether the Raiders offered him a deal or whether Pryor spurned the team that released him. However, today is a new day. Pryor did not get the free agency buzz he anticipated and things have not worked in Washington as Pryor's role has been reduced.
What are the concerns?: After a promising start in Cleveland the Browns did not feel Pryor was worth signing to a significant extension. Pryor has gone on to prove validate those concerns with questionable hands and a serious reduction in playing time. Pryor is a large target with sub-4.5 speed but to date his speed is not translating into anticipated explosive plays. 
Why this makes sense: Hue Jackson is excellent at getting the most out of offensive players. When Pryor seemed to show the most promise as a WR it was under Jackson in Cleveland. Jackson also attempted to reacquire Pryor back from Washington via trade in 2017. Obviously, Jackson knows how best to use Pryor and feels he can be a weapon under his watch. Pryor knows Hue's system and SHOULD trust him. Their pairing should be an easy match provided Pryor doesn't set an unrealistic market again in 2018. Pryor would battle Patterson as the starter across from Cooper. I can easily envision all three being on the field at the same time with Cooper in the slot.

I'm still finding my groove. Next time maybe I'll title this piece "5 Moves that will never happen but should". So I get less "These 5 surprising moves would really be surprising"