At first, the idea that the Oakland Raiders won’t draft a quarterback in the 2014 NFL draft seems extreme. If your first response to the idea is to mumble “ridiculous” under your breath at a volume loud enough that your neighbor in the next cubicle can hear it, well, that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.
The Raiders haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Rich Gannon. Even then, Gannon was a journeyman who arrived at the ripe age of 34 and only had three great seasons during his time in the silver and black. After a disastrous 2013, Matt Schaub doesn’t ...
There has only been one week of baseball—games that count anyway—but so far, so good for many of the Oakland Athletics' top-10 minor league prospects.
As per the norm, MLB.com released their list of the top 100 prospects as well as the top 20 for each team. Here we'll use this list to discuss the top 10 in the A's system. Of course this includes the most familiar face, Addison Russell. The Billys (McKinney and Burns), four pitchers and three Single-A infielders round out the list.
Let's see how each player is doing in this young season.
The list is in numerical, descending ...
Arguably the Oakland Raiders’ biggest move in what has already been a busy offseason was the trade with the Houston Texans that landed them their new starting quarterback: Matt Schaub.
Schaub instantly gives the Raiders the kind of established veteran presence that the team has lacked at the position since the early 2000s with Rich Gannon—and has been in search of ever since.
Statistically speaking, Schaub was among the NFL’s top passers during his time in Houston, throwing for over 4,000 yards in each of the seasons he remained the starter throughout.
Of course, the move, which saw the Raiders send a sixth-round ...
The Oakland Raiders have scheduled an official visit ahead of the 2014 NFL draft with former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel.
The black jersey Manziel wore during his touted pro day won't foreshadow what's to come, though, because Oakland's aggressive offseason has been geared toward immediate winning in 2014.
That's not to say Manziel won't be an instant success in the pros, but the deck would be stacked against him with the Raiders, who will likely clean house if they don't make the playoffs this coming season.
Manziel has the potential to be a franchise-changing signal-caller, but the Raiders are no longer ...
The Oakland Raiders need playmakers on offense and after whiffing on DeSean Jackson, who signed a deal with the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, it's clear that the position of greatest need is wide receiver.
Fortunately, the 2014 NFL draft is chock full of talented pass-catchers, but none are more talented or ready to step in and make an immediate impact than Clemson's Sammy Watkins.
When the Philadelphia Eagles released Jackson, who is from Los Angeles and tore it up near Oakland as a California Bear, many thought his roots would lead him back to California and the cap-rich Raiders.
Jackson went to Washington ...
Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has done a good job rebuilding this offseason. After a rocky start that included voiding the contract of their most high-profile signing due to a failed physical, the Raiders managed to upgrade their offensive line and sign seven defensive starters.
What McKenzie has failed to do is bring in a core young playmaker on either side of the ball. The youngest unrestricted free agent the Raiders signed this offseason was 27-year-old offensive lineman Austin Howard.
The Philadelphia Eagles tossed the Raiders a lifeline by releasing wide receiver DeSean Jackson. It’s not very often a player like Jackson ...
As the weekend approaches, the Oakland A's get set to square off against a familiar AL West division foe, the Seattle Mariners. Though the Northwesterners upgraded their roster, they're still very much beatable.
Oakland has started its season with a series against Seattle for the last four consecutive years. This year they got a slight relief from seeing Felix Hernandez on Opening Day. Unfortunately, they'll see him on Saturday.
The Mariners arrive with a perfect 3-0 record, obviously better than the Athletics' 1-2 record.
Unlike years past, the A's now must game-plan for more than just King Felix, as the Mariners made a huge offseason ...
The 2014 offseason has been a busy one thus far for the Oakland Raiders, and with the NFL draft just around the corner, it will not slow down anytime soon.
Heading into what was certain to be an important few months for the rebuilding of this franchise, the Raiders had many areas of the roster that needed to be addressed.
To this point, they have done well to do just that in a number of key spots, and there is no doubting they have improved the team’s overall talent level in a big way.
Even so, there is still work to be done ...
The Oakland Raiders have the fifth pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Wide receiver is arguably the Raiders' greatest need. Will they be able to find an elite wideout in the first round? Could they address the position later in the draft?
Watch as Adam Lefkoe and Bleacher Report NFL analyst Chris Simms discuss the Raiders' draft plans in the video above.Read more Oakland Raiders news on BleacherReport.com
The Oakland Athletics announced on Monday that they signed former Angels pitcher Joe Blanton to a minor league deal, assigning him to Triple-A Sacramento. For Blanton, who was originally drafted by the Athletics, the signing results in a homecoming as well as an opportunity to bounce back from a forgettable year with the Angels. But it's also a quality addition on the part of Billy Beane and the A's.
The @Athletics have signed Joe Blanton to a minor league deal. He will join the River Cats starting rotation.
— River Cats (@RiverCats) March 31, 2014
Sure, Blanton may not be a flashy acquisition ...