According to Calvin Watkins of FanHouse.com, former Cowboy LB/DE Greg Ellis will be signing a 3 year contract to become a Raider later today. Financial terms were not disclosed.
There were many who thought that Greg Ellis may become a Raider (or at least hoped). I was not among those people. He does not fit the mold of the type of player this Raider team has been focusing on this offseason.
Ellis is the type of player the Patriots were thought to have interest in. He is over 30 (He’ll be 34 in August) and is somewhat of a “tweener” which works great in the Patriots’ 3-4 scheme. Plus the Patriots are in the market for a DE/LB these days so it seemed like the obvious fit.
Others, including PFT’s Mike Florio, thought Ellis would end up in Cincinatti. Their main reason was because Ellis’ former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer now holds the same position with the Bengals. The other reason would be the Bengals penchant for signing problem player of whom Greg Ellis could be considered one. He is not a criminal like most Bengals players but he does seem to whine constantly about his status on the team and about his contract. I guess that wasn’t enough “street cred” for the Bengals liking.
This could spell the end of Derrick Burgess as a Raider. Or then again, it could just mean “the more the merrier”. Afterall, ever since the Giants’ Superbowl win, the trend in the NFL these days (besides the Wildcat) is the stocking up of DE.
Outside of what Ellis may bring on the field, the silver lining to this signing might be that, since the Pats didn’t get Ellis, they are more likely to offer something in trade for Derrick Burgess.
Ellis was reported as having arrived at Raider headquarters last Friday and he agreed to terms Sunday night.
This looks like an Al Davis signing. Although Tom Cable could see his status as the PA rep and figure that he can add some more leadership to the team. We shall see.
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