Raiders beef up line, sign Wade

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, April 01, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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The regeneration continues in Oakland Raiders land, as yesterday the black-and-silver outdid the Buccaneers, the only franchise as freewheelin’ and dealin’ this off-season, by inking center John Wade. With ten NFL seasons under his belt with Tampa Bay and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wade figures to get the starting spot in 2008.

Wade was originally drafted by the Jaguars in the fifth round of the 1998 draft. Going into camp expected to be a marginal player, Wade first got into the game in week 12; interestingly, Wade’s very first career start was in the AFC Wild Card game against New England.

After his rookie year, Wade started 105 of a possible 144 games and six times played the entire 16-game slate; in his five-year career with Tampa Bay, he started all but eight games when placed on IR in 2004.

This durability, Wade’s strength, makes him an ideal answer to the Raiders’ recent problems at center. Jeremy Newberry started last season, actually managing to suit up for 14 games after three consecutive seasons mostly on injured reserve in San Francisco. Clearly, Al Davis (no relation) and co. prefer some stability to waiting for the other knee to drop.

The Wade signing would appear to spell the end of Newberry’s short time in Oakland, and most reckon Wade’s main competition at center to be Jake Grove. Grove also has injury issues, having problems with a shoulder in summer 2006; he saw action with the Raiders in only seven games in 2007.

Though no front-page headliner, Wade’s entry onto the Raider roster surely represents another positive move for a team with a relative lack of draft picks. After giving up a whopping 115 sacks the past two seasons, bringing Wade and Kwame Harris aboard should augment an already improved offensive line.

Now draft Chris Long...

Snapping it cleanly throughout the year at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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