Edwards pickup well worth it for Oakland

By Anthony Carroll  |   Monday, March 31, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!
With only one pick in the first three rounds of this year's NFL draft, it appears the Oakland Raiders are content with blowing most of their cash beforehand.

On Friday, Oakland added to their long list of offseason spending, signing former Detroit Lions defensive end Kalimba Edwards. The 28-year-old was released by Detroit on March 13 and picked up by the Raiders 15 days later. The deal is reportedly worth $5 million over the next two years.

A former second-round draft choice in 2002, Edwards was considered by the majority in Detroit -- including former head coach Rod Marinelli -- to be a major disappointment. The 265-pound defender was benched in the second half of last season for inconsistent play before finally being released this month. Marinelli called the decision to cut Edwards as one that was in "the best interest of our entire football team."

In six seasons with Detroit (87 games, 22 starts), Edwards recorded 160 tackles, 26 sacks and 10 batted down balls. The ex-South Carolina standout's best season came in 2005, when he registered 32 tackles and seven sacks in just a pair of starts. Over his career, Edwards averages 27 tackles and four sacks per season.

Though those certainly aren't high-second-round-pick numbers, the addition is certainly worth it for Oakland. At $5 million over two years, the financial investment -- comparatively speaking (think: Tommy Kelly) -- is not an overly risky venture for the Raiders to partake in.

In March of 2005, Oakland signed a more injury-prone, lesser-experienced Derrick Burgess to a five-year, $17.5 million contract. When Burgess entered Oakland, he had recorded just 57 tackles and 8½ sacks in 15 starts with the Eagles. Three years, 146 tackles, 35 sacks and two Pro Bowls later, that risky investment has certainly paid off.

Edwards will help bring some stability to a thinning position on Oakland's roster. The team already lost its sack leader from last season, Chris Clemons, to free agency, and also saw long-time letdown DE/DT Tyler Brayton sign with Carolina.

Outside of Burgess, Oakland's defensive end list prior to the Edwards' signing included only second-year defender Jay Richardson. Tommy Kelly is also listed as an end on Oakland's official roster; however, the 300-pounder is expected to see the bulk of his playing time from the interior of the line next season.

Edwards, then, will likely battle it out for the starting gig with the '07 fifth-rounder Richardson, who started 11 games last year and recorded 33 tackles and one sack. Whoever earns the starting job, however, will likely split time with the other, particularly early on in the season.

Worst-case scenario: Edwards turns out like Oakland's last Detroit Lions' investment -- underachieving wide receiver Mike Williams. Best: he puts up Derrick Burgess-like numbers.

It's safe to say, though, there's a much greater reward-to-risk ratio in this signing than most of the Raiders' this offseason.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report