Author: jhawkes51

Lights, camera, action! Raiders get ready for home opener against the Broncos on MNF

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Now that the NFL’s exhibition season has come and gone, it’s time to turn the page to the start of the regular season.

The Oakland Raiders, who went 3-1 in during the exhibition season, will host their bitter rival from the Rocky Mountains in the Denver Broncos in front a nationally televised audience as part of ESPN’s doubleheader on Monday Night Football to close out Week 1. The atmosphere at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum should be electric for what will be the last home opener for the Silver and Black in Oakland.

The Raiders will move to Las Vegas in 2020.

Kickoff is at 7:20 p.m. from 7000 Coliseum Way.

Last week, the Raiders dropped their exhibition season finale, 17-15, in Seattle against the Seahawks with most of the expected starters sitting out the game.

Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr appeared in just one game, completing 2-of-2 passes for 40 yards and one touchdown while posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating. In 16 games last season, Carr threw for a career-high 4,049 yards to go along with a career-low 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Carr was also sacked a career-high 51 times last season.

With the addition of superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown (via an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers), Carr has an elite receiver that opposing defenses have to game plan for. In 2018, Brown hauled in 104 catches for 1,297 yards and a league-leading 15 touchdowns in his final season in the Steel City.

It was the sixth-straight season that Brown caught at least 100 passes for 1,200+ yards, extending his own NFL record.

Brown, who didn’t appear in any games during the exhibition season due to frostbitten feet and helmet issues, will make his much anticipated debut in a Raider uniform on Monday night.

This is the second-straight season that the Raiders have opened the regular season in prime-time on Monday Night Football. Last year, the Silver and Black were humbled by the visiting Los Angeles Rams 33-13 in front of a sold out Raider Nation crowd.

The game between the two AFC West foes will mark the second-straight time that the Raiders and Broncos square off on Monday Night Football. Oakland closed out their 2018 home schedule with a 27-14 victory over Denver in Week 16. This will be the first time that the two teams will open up the regular season against each other since 2011, a game that Oakland won a 23-20.

The Raiders lead the all-time series, 63-55-2, with a 33-25 record against the Broncos at home.

After Monday night’s game, the Raiders will host another AFC West rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, in Week 2. Oakland will hit the road for games against the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts, kicking off a 49-day stretch that the Raiders will be away from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Raiders wrap up the 2019 exhibition season in Seattle on Thursday

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Raider Nation, we have finally come to the end of the 2019 exhibition. The Silver and Black will play their final game of the exhibition season in Seattle Thursday night against the Seahawks. With no starters expected to play on both sides, this game will showcase players fighting for roster spots who want to put on a good showing for the coaches.

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PDT from CenturyLink Field.

Oakland is looking to close out the exhibition season undefeated. Last week, the Raiders needed a 33-yard field goal from kicker Daniel Carlson as time expired to edge the Green Bay Packers, 22-21, in a bizarre game that featured an 80-yard field for player safety.

End zones were marked by bright orange pylons at the 10-yard lines and there were no kickoffs. The field was reconfigured because of concerns about the areas where the goal posts for the CFL’s Winnipeg franchise were removed and covered with turf.

The game was actually a home game for the Raiders, who decided to move one of their two home games in the exhibition season to Winnipeg in a move that would save the team $500,000 in rent at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Oakland is set to move to Las Vegas in 2020.

Quarterback Nathan Peterman, who is in a close battle with Mike Glennon to be the primary backup to starter Derek Carr, threw a pair of touchdowns, including a 17-yard strike to wide receiver De’Mornay Pierson-El in the fourth quarter to cut the Green Bay’s lead to 21-19. Peterman’s 2-point conversion attempt was intercepted.

Peterman, who took over for Glennon after the first quarter, finished 23-of-37 for 210 yards in three quarters. Glennon, who struggled in his appearance against the Packers, completed 4-of-9 passes for just 38 yards.

Seattle picked up their second win of the exhibition season last week, defeating the Chargers, 23-15, in Los Angeles.

Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson looked ready for the regular season to begin, leading Seattle on two touchdown drives before calling it a night. The eight-year veteran completed 6-of-9 passes for 73 yards. Wilson also rushed for 31 yards.

Raiders face Packers in rare home game in Winnipeg on Thursday night

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Photo credit: @NFL

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Two down. Two to go.

The Raiders have played two exhibition games and sport a 2-0 record as the team inches closer to the regular season home opener against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 9 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as part of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader.

Oakland will try to keep up its winning ways going as they will play host to the Green Bay Packers at IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on Thursday night in the third exhibition game for both teams.

Kickoff is set for 5:00 p.m. PDT.

Last week, Oakland went on the road and defeated the Arizona Cardinals 33-26. Oakland jumped out to 26-point before the Cardinals scored.

Raiders starting quarterback Derek Carr made his first appearance of the exhibition season and looked in regular season form.

Carr led Oakland’s first-team offense to a touchdown on his only series of play, engineering a six-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Ryan Grant. Carr went 2-of-2 for 40 yards on the drive before giving way to backup quarterback Mike Glennon.

In the battle for QB2, Glennon appears to have the inside track over Nathan Peterman.

On Glennon’s first drive of the game, he connected with wide receiver Rico Gafford for a 53-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 17-0 lead. Then on his next possession, Glennon threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Derek Carrier that pushed Oakland’s lead to 24-0 in the second quarter.

Glennon threw for 175 yards on 11-of-14 passes and two touchdowns against Arizona.

Peterman didn’t lead Oakland to any points, but did complete 8-of-8 passes for 41 yards.

Oakland’s offense registered 373 yards total and controlled the football for 35:43 of the game, compared to 24:17 for Arizona.

Its possible that Carr and the first-team offense could see the field on Thursday night, but anticipate players who are on the roster bubble that will get the majority of the playing time.

Oakland’s first-team defense turned up the heat on Arizona’s rookie quarterback Kyler Murray.

Murray, the No. 1 overall pick by the Cardinals in April’s NFL Draft, had no time to throw the football as defensive coordinator Paul Guenther sent the wolves after the young player for much of his appearance in the game.

Oakland recorded a safety on Murray after safety Lamarcus Joyner sacked the former Oklahoma quarterback in the end zone that pushed Oakland’s lead to 26-0.

Murray passed for just 12 yards on 3-of-8 passing.

Along with Joyner, linebacker Brandon Marshall and defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks each registered a sack in the game.

Linebacker Keisean Nixon led the team in tackles with five.

Green Bay (1-1) is coming off a 26-13 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens with starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers sitting out his second-straight exhibition season.

Backup quarterback DeShone Kizer started in Rodgers’ place, completed just 5-of-10 passes for 70 yards and three points on three drives. Fellow backup quarterback Tim Boyle actually fared better than Kizer in his showing.

Boyle completed 12-of-21 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown.

The second-year pro from the University of Kentucky led Green Bay on a seven-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Darrius Shepherd that cut Baltimore’s lead to 20-13 in the third quarter before the Ravens added two fields goals from kicker Justin Tucker in the fourth quarter to put Baltimore up, 26-13, and the game out of reach.

After Thursday night’s game, the Raiders will wrap up the exhibition season in Seattle against the Seahawks on Aug. 29. It will mark the 14th-consecutive year that the two teams will conclude the exhibition season, with 10 in Seattle and four in Oakland.

The Packers will close out the exhibition season at home with Oakland’s biggest rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, coming into Lambeau Field.

Raiders take on Cardinals in the desert on Thursday

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Photo credit: youtube.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Looking to build off their victory over the Los Angeles Rams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum last Saturday night in both team’s first exhibition game, the Raiders will travel for the first time in 2019 to Glendale to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday at State Farm Stadium.

Kickoff for this exhibition game will be at 5:00 p.m. PDT, and can be seen nationally on ESPN.

Last week, the Raiders (1-0) defeated the visiting Rams, 14-3, as both teams held out many of its starters including quarterbacks Derek Carr and Jared Goff, respectively and opted to play younger guys and backups.

With Carr on the sideline wearing team issued sweats, Oakland started seven-year veteran Mike Glennon in the first-half, while letting third-year player Nathan Peterman handle the second-half to do battle for the QB2 position behind Carr.

Glennon completed 17-of-25 passes for 200 yards, but threw two interceptions, including one inside the red zone shortly before halftime.

Glennon did lead Oakland to their first touchdown of the exhibition season on the team’s first drive, which culminated in a 7-yard rushing touchdown by backup running back DeAndre Washington.

In the six drives that Glennon led Oakland’s offense: one led to a touchdown, two ended in interceptions and three ended in punts.

Albeit it was the first exhibition game for Glennon, he didn’t show that he was ready to be QB2 behind Carr.

Peterman played decent, but didn’t set the world on fire with his play.

Outside of the 50-yard scramble that setup Oakland’s second score of the game, Peterman was purely pedestrian. On the scoring drive, Peterman was flushed out of the pocket on third-and-4 from Oakland’s own 42-yard line before sliding down at the Rams’ 8-yard line.

Two plays later, Peterman threw a 3-yard touchdown to Alameda High School and UC Davis product Keelan Doss for a 14-3 lead that the Raiders never surrendered.

“He can run,” Oakland coach Jon Gruden said during his postgame press conference. “As he continues to gain command of the offense he’s going to be an interesting guy to watch.”

“It was a super clean pocket and I was able to get out to my left.” Peterman said. “Took off and I was about to slide then noticed that there was nobody else there. I think it was because of guys blocking downfield, guys making big plays for me. Tried to get in there, didn’t quite make it.”

Typically, the second exhibition game is usually when we get to see more of the projected starting lineup. So don’t be surprised if Carr starts the game and plays 2-3 series before giving way to Glennon and Peterman.

Defensively, the Raiders didn’t have that much to write home about but, second-year defensive end Arden Key played well. Key recorded a sack and two hurries. Oakland had one of the worse pass rushes in the league last season, finishing last in sacks with just 13.

Arizona (1-0) defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 17-13, at State Farm Stadium.

Rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, who the Cardinals drafted No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, made his pro debut against the Chargers and looked smooth. Murray completed 6-of-7 passes for 44 yards, his longest completion was a 14-yard short pass to star running back David Johnson.

The 2018 Heiseman Trophy winner is slated to be Arizona’s starter in Week 1 when the Cardinals host the Detroit Lions, so the Cardinals played it safe with its new franchise quarterback who only played one series on the night.

“I was just going out there and being myself, like always. Trusting in my abilities,” Murray said after the game. “I wanted to score. I wanted to go back in. I was definitely itching for more.”

Backup quarterback Brett Hundley saw most of the action following Murray’s exit, completed 10-of-14 passes for 104 yards and a 22-yard touchdown pass to second-year wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the second quarter.

Glennon, Peterman lead Raiders over Rams in exhibition opener

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sfgate.com photo:  In this June 11, 2019, file photo, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is shown during an NFL football minicamp in Alameda, Calif. The Raiders and their big personalities like Antonio Brown and Richie Incognito are ready to be stars on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The NFL exhibition season is nothing more than drinking non-alcoholic beer. You’ll be satisfied momentarily by the buzz it creates but in the end, you’re sober again looking for another fix.

With roster spots up for grabs, the first exhibition game can go a long way in determining a player’s long-term future with a football team.

With many of the starters for both the visiting Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders, including starting quarterbacks Jared Goff and Derek Carr respectively not suiting up, Oakland defeated Los Angeles, 14-3, in the exhibition opener for both teams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Saturday night.

Seven-year pro Mike Glennon, who signed with Oakland in the offseason after playing for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, started the game for Oakland over third-year pro Nathan Peterman.

Glennon drove Oakland down the field on their first possession of the game, engineering a six-play, 70-yard drive in 2:45 resulting in a seven-yard touchdown run by backup running back DeAndre Washington for an early 7-0 lead.

But Glennon struggled overall, completing 17-of-25 passes for 200 yards to go along with two interceptions. Glennon’s second interception came in the red zone with Oakland driving down the field.

On the ensuing drive, the Rams would get on the board for the first time behind a 36-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein to make the score, 7-3, before halftime.

In the second half, Peterman took over the offense and quickly setup Oakland’s second touchdown of the game thanks to his 50-yard run on 3rd down-and-4 from the Raiders’ own 42-yard line moving the football to the Rams’ 8-yard line.

After a five-yard run by running back James Butler that moved the football to the 3-yard line, Peterman found reserve wide receiver Keelan Doss on an in-route for the score to make the game, 14-3, in the third quarter.

Peterman threw for 66 yards on 9-of-12 passes, and led the Raiders in rushing with 56 yards on three carries.

Second-year wide receiver Keon Hatcher, who is fighting for roster spot in a crowded wide receiver room that includes veterans J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant, caught just two passes for a team-high 45 yards.

Nelson, who is in his first year with the Raiders after spending his first four seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, finished with 43 yards on two catches.

Grant added three catches for 32 yards.

Defensively, defensive end Arden Key recorded Oakland’s lone sack of the game. The second-year player finished tied with defensive backs Nevin Lawson, D.J. Killings, linebacker Marquel Lee and defensive lineman Anthony Rush with three tackles tonight.

Oakland held Los Angeles to just 190 yards of total offense on the night.

For the Rams, quarterback Blake Bortles started the game for Los Angeles but wasn’t impressive at all.

Bortles, who signed with the Rams in the offseason to be the primary backup to starter Jared Goff after spending his first five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, completed just 3-of-8 passes for 50 yards on two drives before giving way to Brandon Allen (6-of-12 passing for 34 yards) and John Wolford (6-of-8 passing for a team-high 54 yards).

Rookie running back Darrell Henderson, Jr. led the team in rushing yards with six carries for 13 yards. Second-year wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge led the team with three catches for 48 yards.

The game was filled with penalties as both teams combined for 23 penalties (12 by the Rams, 11 by the Raiders).

Up next: Raiders will take on the Arizona Cardinals in the desert on Thursday night, while the Rams will host the visiting Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum next Saturday night.

Raiders open up 2019 preseason schedule with visit from Rams

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

Welcome back football!

The Oakland Raiders open up the 2019 preseason schedule this coming Saturday, when they host the visiting Los Angeles Rams at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden told available media on Thursday in Napa that the starters won’t see the field Saturday night against the reigning NFC Champions.

“You’re not going to see some of the starters,” Gruden said. “You’re just not going to see them. You saw them today. You saw them yesterday. They took about 120 reps so we’re going to take a look at some of the young players, some guys need that opportunity, and I don’t have that for you right now but I’ll have that for you tomorrow.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the starters, most notably quarterback Derek Carr, won’t suit up in the first preseason. Typically, starters don’t see any real action until the second and third preseason games.

Teams usually treat the preseason as a proven ground for players on the roster bubble looking to burst on to the scene. The four games are essentially job interviews to see if a player does fit a team’s system for the upcoming season.

With Carr most likely not playing on Saturday, expect plenty of action for quarterbacks Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman as the two battle for the backup job.

Glennon, signed with the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason after spending 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals. In two games played last year, Glennon completed 15-of-21 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown.

For his career, Glennon has been a serviceable starter with Tampa Bay and Chicago as well, has thrown for 5,107 yards with 35 touchdowns to just 20 interceptions as he enters his seventh year in the NFL.

Peterman, who spent his first two years of his career in Buffalo, is trying to win a roster spot with Oakland. For his career, Peterman has thrown just three touchdowns, but a ghastly 12 interceptions in four career starts.

Defensively, the Raiders have a few young players that I’m intrigued to see get in the game such as rookies defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Johnathan Abram.

The Raiders spent two first-round picks on both Ferrell and Abram in the 2019 NFL Draft, and both are expected to compete for starting positions.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Ferrell was drafted fourth overall from Clemson after winning a national championship, while the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Abram was selected 27th overall out of Mississippi State.

After Saturday’s game, which will be the only one in Oakland during the preseason, the Raiders will travel to Arizona and take on the Cardinals on Thursday night on ESPN. Oakland’s second home game, which will be on Aug. 22 in Winnipeg against the Green Bay Packers.

The Raiders won’t play at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum again until Sept. 9, as the nightcap to ESPN’s Monday Night Football double-header.

Kevin Durant was trustworthy in Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Clippers

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Photo credit: @usatodaypost2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Can the notion that Kevin Durant can’t be trusted as a Golden State Warrior be buried six feet under?

Ever since the Warriors surrendered a historic 31-point lead on Monday night to the Clippers which allowed Los Angeles to steal Game 2 with a 135-131 victory that tied the first-round series 1-1, all the talk was the amount of shots that Durant took (8), the amount of turnovers he committed (9), and that Clippers defensive point guard Patrick Beverley was in his head.

Well, Durant exploded and was indeed trustworthy in Game 3, scoring a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Golden State Warriors to a commanding 132-105 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Durant finished with seven assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.

Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Golden State came out firing in the first quarter, jumping all over Los Angeles with a 22-9 run while shooting a blistering 73-percent from the floor. The Warriors took the crowd out of the game early and just dominated the Clippers wire-to-wire.

Durant was a major reason for such an emphatic response by Golden State in Game 3, drilling his first five shots and both his free throws for 12 points in the first quarter. Along with Stephen Curry’s 13 points, Golden State built a 19-point lead before the Clippers blinked. Both Durant and Curry picked up two fouls early.

Curry finished with 21 points, but was whistled for five fouls total.

By halftime with the Warriors holding a commanding 73-52 lead, Durant had 27 points on 10-of-15 field goals, tying a postseason career-high.

Golden State put the game out of reach once Curry drew his fourth foul in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 14 straight points to lead 88-57.

The lead grew up to as much as 35 points for the Warriors, thanks to Alfonzo McKinnie’s 3-pointer late in the quarter.

The real story was Durant, who had to hear that the aforementioned Beverley was in his head for the past three days. Durant torched the Clippers and Beverley for 30 minutes on Thursday night that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

It’s safe to say that had Durant played in the fourth quarter, he would’ve dropped 40 points easily.

Heck, 50 points wouldn’t been out of the question.

Hold off from pressing the panic button on the Warriors

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bleacherreport.com photo: The Los Angeles Clippers routed Golden State Warriors, erasing a 31-point deficit in Game 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Monday night. The series moves to Staples Center in Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday night. 

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors were riding high, leading the Los Angeles Clippers 73-50 at halftime.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry led all scorers with 22 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-7 from three, and 6-for-6 from the foul line. But in the second half, Curry scored just seven points.

Then the roof caved in.

Golden State couldn’t hold on to its 31-point lead that they built up in the third quarter after starting the frame scoring 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting off eight assists, and saw the Los Angeles Clippers complete the largest postseason comeback in NBA history by shocking the Warriors, 135-131, to take Game 2 of their first-round series to even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece.

Rookie Landry Shamet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds remaining to complete the Clippers’ historic comeback over the Warriors.

The Clippers outscored Golden State 85-58 in the second half. In the third quarter alone, Los Angeles outscored Golden State 44-35. The 44 points were the most in a postseason quarter for Los Angeles.

The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 this Thursday night from Staple Center.

Oh yeah, the Warriors lost center DeMarcus Cousins with what is being reported as a “significant” quad injury for an “extended period of time.”

Cousins injured his left quad muscle after diving to the floor following a steal in the first quarter. Cousins immediately grabbed his left side and limped off the floor and into the locker room.

An MRI for Cousins is scheduled for Tuesday, but it is feared that Cousins will miss the rest of the series if not, the remainder of the Warriors’ playoff run.

Before Warriors fans hit the panic button, let me put you at ease: the Warriors will still win this series. I know that’s not nothing new, but its just reassurance from me.

Sure, the top-seeded Warriors were punched in the mouth by the eighth-seeded Clippers on Monday night behind a career-high 36 points and 11 assists from Lou Williams and 25 points from Montrezl Harrell, but it did take a herculean effort for Los Angeles to take down the two-time defending NBA champions in front of a frenzied, sold out Oracle Arena crowd.

Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who continues to be the team’s biggest mouthpiece, has clearly made life difficult for Kevin Durant in this series. Beverley has been irritating (in a good way) Durant at every point, and even gotten the two of them ejected from Game 1.

You expect Durant, who had 21 points, five rebound and five assists in Game 2 before fouling out, to bounce back in Game 3. Durant finished with more turnovers (9) than shot attempts (8), but shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson scored 17 points and Draymond Green had 14 points with nine assists.

Golden State committed 21 turnovers in Game 1, then follow up with 22 more on Monday night. The Warriors have been flat out sloppy in protecting the basketball.

When the Warriors protect the basketball and limit the turnovers, they are nearly unbeatable. Golden State got away with that in Game 1, but got caught with their hand in the cookie jar in Game 2.

The Clippers made Golden State pay this time around.

Even in the defeat, one positive the Warriors can take from this loss was the game that backup center Kevon Looney had. After Cousins left the game, Looney played big, finishing with a career-high 19 points and making all six shot attempts.

Looney will most certainly start Game 3 in Cousins’ absence. Looney did make 24 starts this season for the Warriors and will look to build off his breakout performance.

Instead of the projected four-game sweep that everyone penciled for Golden State, the Warriors will end the series in five or six games.

The Clippers exasperated all their energy in securing Game 2 and after stealing a game that they had no business of winning, Los Angeles has gotten the Warriors’ full attention and are beaming with confidence.

That’s not a good thing.

Sources: Raiders set to acquire WR Antonio Brown from Steelers

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photo from bleacherreport.com file: Antonio Brown joins the Oakland Raiders in a three year deal, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout is looking forward to catching passes from Raider quarterback Derek Carr

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to trade star wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders, a source close to the situation told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Brown announced the move via his Instagram account late Saturday night wearing his No. 84 in the Silver and Black of the Raiders.

The trade cannot be made official until the new league year, which begins this Wednesday.

According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Brown will receive a new three-year contract at $50.125 million, with a maximum value of $54.125 million. Brown will earn $30.125 million in guarantees. He was due no guaranteed money in his previous contract.

Armed with three first-round picks (No. 4, No. 23, and No. 27 respectively), the Raiders didn’t have to part ways with any of those precious picks for Brown.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Raiders will send 2019 third- and fifth-round picks to the Steelers as compensation. Pittsburgh originally thought that they were going to send Brown to the Buffalo Bills, but discussions broke down between the two clubs late Thursday night into early Friday morning.

After taking a beating last season for trading away stars in defensive end/linebacker Khalil Mack (to Chicago) and wide receiver Amari Cooper (to Dallas), the Raiders needed to land an impact player this offseason.

By all accounts, the All-Pro wide receiver is an impact player that makes the Raiders better today than they were yesterday with this trade. Brown should become Raiders quarterback Derek Carr’s best friend, with his penchant for getting open and making acrobatic catches in traffic.

In 130 career games, the 30-year-old Central Michigan product has 11,207 receiving yards and 74 touchdowns. He is the only receiver in NFL history to have six consecutive seasons with at least 100 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

In 2018, the 30-year-old Brown hauled in 104 catches for 1,297 yards for an NFL-best 15 touchdown for the Steelers.

The Raiders should call the Steelers for Antonio Brown

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Photo credit: musiccitymiracles.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

There have been multiple reports in recent days that the Raiders would be interested in trading for Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, which Oakland should do in a heartbeat. Armed with three first-round picks in this April’s NFL draft and flushed with nearly $73 million in salary cap space per Overthecap.com, the Raiders can send one of those picks to Pittsburgh and pay the going rate for the dynamic Brown.

Imagine quarterback Derek Carr throwing touchdowns to a wide receiver like Brown?

Carr threw for 4,049 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season, much of that with insufficient talent at wide receiver. After the team traded away Amari Cooper to Dallas near midseason, free-agent addition Jordy Nelson was slowed by injuries for much of the season.

In fact, Carr’s most trusted receiver in 2018 was tight end Jared Cook, who had a career-year across the board. Cook had career-highs in catches (68), yards (896) and touchdowns (six) is an unrestricted free-agent and chances of him returning to the Silver and Black are a possibility.

But Antonio Brown would give Carr a legit weapon that other teams would have to fear. Brown has the ability to score from anywhere on the football field and the way that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden can design plays, getting Brown the ball shouldn’t be a problem.

Brown finished with 104 catches for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns, which led the NFL in 2018. Last season was the sixth-straight season that Brown recorded at least 100 catches, an NFL record per the Elias Sports Bureau.

With the Steelers reportedly seeking a first-round pick, the Raiders could ship either their own No. 4, or the No. 24 (from Chicago) or the No. 27 (from Dallas) respectively to Pittsburgh for Brown.

Just a thought, but the Raiders should make the move.