The only hope teams had of any organized team activities may have passed when the lockout was kept in place until the courts can rule on the owners appeal… blah, blah, blah. The important thing is the players are still locked out and it could be weeks or even months before anything is decided. This means that some key vets could be retained just for familiarity purposes.
The Raiders are a young team, that much is known, and works in their favor for the most part. But the teams in the best shape to succeed on short notice are teams with solid veteran players who can put on their cleats and play with little disruption to their game.
So while this Raider team has players they were looking to move on from, and in turn players to step up and replace them, that transition just caught a snag. If the lockout cuts into training camp, the team will not be afforded the ability to transplant those players. So players we all may have expected to see moving on may just be brought back into the fold after all.
Here are some players who will likely be retained due to a shortened training camp:
Langston Walker
The Raiders drafted Joseph Barksdale to be their right tackle of the future. The hope was, of course, that he would be the right tackle of the immediate future. But the right tackle position is far too important to put in the hands of a rookie with few practices under his belt. Walker will likely welcome the chance to come back to the Raiders even on a one season contract. He is a free agent and the Raiders didn’t offer him a contract, but once free agency starts, especially if it starts in July or later, expect Walker to be given an offer to stay with the Raiders and start at right tackle — at least until Barksdale or someone else can step up and take the job from him.
Samson Satele
The Raiders put an original second round tender on Satele to keep him with the team, but there is no guarantee that the rules of free agency will be the same once a new CBA is struck. When the team drafted Stefen Wisniewski, Hue Jackson said unequivocally that Wiz kid came to the Raiders to be their next great center, though he didn’t say if that was going to happen immediately. If anyone can pick up the position quickly, it’s Wisniewski. But Satele played good football near the end of the 2010 season and the team would be in good shape with him back as starting center. Wisniewski will get the job eventually. Probably sooner rather than later. But Satele would give him time to make the transition to the pros. Also remember Wisniewski played guard all last season and he will have to transition back to center as well. With a shortened training camp, that transition will be stunted.
Thomas Howard
Last season he looked to be phased out of the lineup completely. This season Travis Goethel was supposed to replace him on the roster at weakside linebacker. Goethel backed up both middle linebacker and weakside linebacker last season but he was injured through the first part of the season and got very little playing time the last half of the season. The team may have been looking for him to compete for the starting job on the weak side although my theory was that he would be coming in the game at inside linebacker when the Raiders run a 3-4 set. Regardless of how Goethel is deployed, the team will lean on the experience and athleticism of Howard as a key reserve.
Bruce Gradkowski
A lot has been made about the Raiders entering the new season with just two quarterbacks on the roster. Jason Campbell is the unquestioned starter and the only backup is Kyle Boller. With a shortened preseason and a shortened free agency period, it would be a good idea for both Gradkowski and the Raiders that he return as a backup. A rookie quarterback would just hold the clipboard and offer a scary thought if he were forced in the game. Even if Gradkowski got injured again, the Raiders would simply be in the same position they are in now anyway — with Kyle Boller.
Brandon Myers
Myers has been ineffective at tight end backing up Zach Miller. The mere fact that the Raiders were playing Khalif Barnes at tight end inside the 30 yard line is the first bit of proof. Then the Raiders used the last two draft picks on tight ends, Richard Gordon and David Ausberry. Those two are polar opposites in their specialization. Ausberry is a receiving tight end, played at wide receiver his first few seasons at USC before being switched to tight end as a senior, and is even listed as a wide receiver on the Raiders’ website, though he is quite big for a receiver and Hue Jackson said in the post draft press conference that he has room to add more weight. Gordon is a stereotypical blocking tight end — so much so that he caught a total of ten passes in his entire college career at Miami. He fills a need at blocking tight end and Ausberry’s best hope was to provide that receiving threat in two tight end sets. But Gordon’s odds of making the opening day roster dwindle as the lockout persists. He may have been destined for the practice squad regardless. Without a full training camp, no way he takes Myers’ spot on this roster.
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