The Oakland Raiders are coming into training camp with high expectations and a trade for Andre Johnson could be in the cards this summer and if the team opts to trade Denarius Moore like the rumors have speculated, it means players like James Jones, Greg Little, Mychal Rivera and Brice Butler will need to have big seasons to support Matt Schaub and Darren McFadden in the offense.
The Raiders brought in Matt Schaub to take over at QB and while he did not have a great season with the Texans, he could benefit from a change of scenery. According to ESPN.com blogger Bill Williamson, the Raiders have looked into the Andre Johnson trade deal and so far no movement has come from that, while other reports had the team shopping Moore earlier in the offseason. Trades do not usually happen this late, so the Raiders need players like James Jones, Greg Little, Mychal Rivera and Brice Butler to step up for Schaub as they try to turn things around.
Jones comes in after making nearly 60 catches for 817 yards, while Little was released by the Browns and now he can help the Raiders after going for 41 catches and 465 yards last year. Rod Streater had 60 catches, while Moore was second on the team with 46 catches for nearly 700 yards. Rivera showed promise as a rookie and he could be the key for the offense.
The Raiders made a number of free agent moves this offseason to help improve the roster and names like James Jones, Maurice Jones-Drew and Justin Tuck could be huge in turning around the team. Winning the division will be very tough with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs there, but the team has no reason to think it can't compete for a wild card spot in the AFC. The team has gone 4-12 over the past two seasons and that means just eight wins for Dennis Allen in that time and if they don't improve record-wise this year, a number of changes could be coming at the top.
Last season the Raiders won just four games and ranked 25th in the league in passing yards per game behind Matt McGloin and Terrelle Pryor. The team traded for Matt Schaub from the Texans this offseason to take over as the starter, but last year they also traded for a QB named Matt with Matt Flynn and that did not work out at all. Flynn barely played and he ended up getting released to waste that draft pick and the team ended up going with Pryor to start the season. Tyler Wilson ended up out of favor for McGloin, which was another wasted pick and now McGloin remains, while Pryor was traded to the Seahawks.
Pryor showed some flashes last season of being an exciting starter, but he was too up and down and the Raiders opted to keep the backup with the similar playing style to their new starter. The Raiders also drafted Derek Carr and while he may not start this season, he is now taking over as the QB of the future and the team hopes he turns out better than JaMarcus Russell did.
