The Oakland Raiders have agreed to terms with defensive end Jarvis Moss on a one year contract worth $1.25 million. The Raiders will not be able to make the move official until Friday and Moss will not participate in any on-field drills until next Thursday August 4th, but will participate in classroom and video sessions as well as the team’s weight training as of the deal being made official when the new league year begins on Friday.
Moss was the 17th overall pick of the rival Denver Broncos in the 2007 NFL draft. He was also part of the Florida Gators National Championship team in 2007 with current Raiders teammate, Louis Murphy.
Moss was originally a defensive end for the Broncos. In his first two seasons he played in 18 games and recorded 24 tackles and 3.5 sacks. But the team made him switch to outside linebacker following the arrival of Head Coach Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. During the 2009 preseason, Moss reportedly contemplated retirement because the defensive scheme and position switch were too much for him to handle.
Ultimately, he reported back to the Broncos and continued to try and play outside linebacker. After an early 2010 season ending injury to Pro Bowl linebacker, Elvis Dumervil, Moss was expected to be the team’s choice to replace Dumervil. However, he was released by the Broncos on November 17th which was fortunate for the Raiders because it happened to be the same week that their defensive end, Trevor Scott, tore his ACL in his left knee.
Scott was placed on IR and Moss signed a one-year contract with the Raiders on November 23rd. He would make the switch back to defensive end and end up with three tackles and one sack in five games played for the Raiders. In his four year career, Moss has played in 39 games recording 32 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and one pass deflection.
The move proves that Al Davis is still the same ol’ owner who loves him some first round draft picks that don’t work out for other teams. Moss will compete as a depth player on the defensive line behind starters Matt Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston. Moss has good size for a 4-3 defensive end at 6’7″ and 257 pounds and decent speed clocking a 4.7 forty yard dash.
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