Raiders now turn to McFadden
The Oakland Raiders will have to turn to Darren McFadden as their running back option while Michael Bush recovers from a broken thumb which requires surgery. Reports indicate that Bush could be out from 4 to possibly 6 weeks. Michael Bush and Darren McFadden were expected to split time in the Oakland Raiders backfield this year, and now that duo will have to wait. So now, McFadden will have to prove he is worthy of the task of becoming the starting running back for the Raiders.
McFadden came into the league with a lot of expectation, being the fourth overall pick in the first round in 2008. He is a physical running back has has good speed, but he’s never seemed to live up to his billing, he’s never rushed for over 500 yards in a season yet.
However, I am not about ready to give up on him yet. McFadden played on some pretty bad Raiders team which had no quarterback. But this year, the Raiders have made a huge adjustment at the position by acquiring Jason Campbell. Campbell told the media that he should be ready to go in week one. Only once last season did McFadden get the ball more than 12 times in a game. Some running backs require more carries to get going. Now we’ll see if that will be the case with McFadden.Raiders fans need to hope he doesn’t re-aggravate the hamstring which plagued him during preseason.
I believe he’ll surprise some people and especially those who took a late round chance with him on their fantasy teams.
Are the Raiders in the running for Cardinals Matt Leinart?
Are the Oakland Raiders one og the teams in the running for Arizona Cardinals Matt Leinart? Talk about going from first to worse, Matt Leinart took a virtually guaranteed starting position with the Arizona Cardinals and threw it out the window. Leinart was the presumptive starter after Kurt Warner retired at the conclusion of the 2009 season. It now appears that Derek Anderson will start the season at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals as the Cardinals are rumored to be shopping Matt Leinart who reportedly now has lost the Cardinals locker room in addition to having poor play on the field this preseason.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that three teams have contacted the Arizona Cardinals about possibly executing a trade for Leinart. Gregg Rosenthal of PFT.com speculates that one of the possible teams interested is the Oakland Raiders.
Now the Raiders have long been a team not afraid to give another chance to a player. But does this move make any sense at all. Currently the Raiders have 5 quarterbacks on their roster. They recently acquired Colt Brennan while Bruce Gradkowski was dealing with his injury. Charlie Frye is on injured reserve. Jason Campbell is the starter and Bruce Gradkowski has solidified his spot at number 2 after his performance this past weekend. It’s unlikely the Raiders will keep more than three quarterbacks on the roster, so if the Raiders were to trade for Leinart, that means they would have to release both Colt Brennan and Kyle Boller.
The other underlying factor regarding Leinart is his contract. The Raiders just got rid of an overpaid non-producing quarterback in JaMarcus Russell and now would be forced to take on Leinart’s salary for 2011 which is supposed to be over 9 million. I think the speculation of him heading to the Raiders is simply him returning to the state where he played his college ball. I would be very surprised if the Raiders actually do trade for Leinart.
Oakland Raiders breathe sigh of relief
The Oakland Raiders can breathe a collective sigh of relief, QB Jason Campbell returned to practice. According to MercuryNews.com, Campbell participated in a light workout as the Raiders practiced without pads and half speed. Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable told reporters, “He threw the ball. He did everything we need (him) to do in practice”.
Cable also declined comment on Michael Bush and whether or not he did have surgery on his fractured thumb. “We are going to adhere to the in-season injury policy and we’re not going to talk about injuries, or where anyone’s at, or what’s going on with them”.
The Raiders made their first roster moves as teams head to the first round of roster cuts. Oakland released TE Tony Stewart (who will be returning to the NASCAR circuit), WR Paul Hubbard, OG Allen Smith and FB Chane Moline
Will Gradkowski be starting the season for the Raiders?
With RB Michael Bush nursing a knee injury, it’s now revealed that Oakland Raiders QB Jason Campbell has a right wrist injury, does his injury open the door for Bruce Gradkowski to start in the season opener for the Raiders. Campbell has already had a MRI and X-rays on his wrist, though it was believed that Campbell only suffered a shoulder stinger this past weekend after being slammed to the ground in a blindside tackle against the San Francisco 49ers.
Gradkowski came on in relief for Campbell in his first action of the preseason and looked impressive. He was 14-22 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns and basically ended all speculation as to who the backup quarterback for the Oakland Raiders would be this season. Raiders head coach Tom Cable told reporters after the loss to the 49ers, “He (Gradkowski) definitely showed himself well and strengthened out football team at the quarterback position”.
I was poised to watch the Raiders start the regular season with Jason Campbell under center, but based on Gradkowski’s performance this past weekend, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he did start September 12th against the Tennessee Titans. After all, anything is an upgrade over JaMarcus Russell at quarterback and Gradkowski did show some spark last season.
Raiders Bush suffers injury
The Oakland Raiders running game suffered a setback on Saturday night as Michael Bush has broken his thumb. It will not be determined how much time Bush will miss until later in the weekend when he is reported to see a hand specialist.
In related Oakland Raiders injury news, QB Jason Campbell was carted off the field after getting a deveistating blindside sack administered to him. Campbell laid on the field for several minutes and he eventually rode off the field in the passenger seat of the trainer’s cart.
Campbell’s injury was described as a stinger and Raiders head coach Tom Cabel believes Campbell will be fine for the season opener.
On the good news front for the Raiders, QB Bruce Gradkowski finally returned to the field after recovery from his injury and looked sharp. Gradkowski was 14-22 for 202 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Louis Murphy for a 74 yard strike, and later hooked up with TE Zack Miller for a 27 yard score.
Raiders fans watching the game last night had to have been having flashbacks to the 2009 season as the San Fracisco 49ers ran the ball at will on the Raiders. The Niners posted 165 rushing yards and left the game with a 5.0 yard per carry average. And for the first time this preseason, the Raiders failed to record a sack on defense.
