Raider moves: Lechler in, Curry out

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, February 19, 2009  |  Comments( 55 )

Oakland Raiders
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See, Coach Carroll? Oakland Raiders land" target="_new">There is room for optimism in Oakland Raiders Land: The front office earlier this week announced a pair of moves which, though admittedly pretty obvious, are correct. And no personnel swap in professional sports should be taken for granted, really.

In for 2009 is punter Shane Lechler, Pro Bowler and quite possibly the Raiders’ MVP in 2008. In a most excellent move, Al Davis and company managed to sign Lechler for four more years, thereby A) keeping one of the game’s best at the position; B) keeping the franchise tag available for again presumptive choice Nnamdi Asomugha; and C) going further to erase the stigma surrounding the club propagated by Warren Sapp and his ilk.

Even a glass-half-full pessimist like Carroll would have to admit that such a killing of multiple birds with one stone – seriously, signing a key special teamer with the promise of keeping a Pro Bowl-level cornerback in the secondary? Why, that's Piolian! – shows that at least the Oakland. front office hasn’t flatlined yet.

Also on the plus side is the release of Ronald Curry, though for the man himself it may be a career-ending wakeup call. The Raiders (there go those sources again!) are expected to release Curry, in a move most noted for the $2.3 million the silver and black will save against the cap.

The optimistic among the Raider Nation have also got to like the implication in clearing out Curry specifically. Alongside prospective retiree/releasee Javon Walker, the Raiders will again have a big hole at wide receiver and this time are presented the opportunity with some intriguing free-agent head cases – I mean, stars – at the position.

(Incidentally, for those who fear a screws-loose dude like Terrell Owens coming to Oakland to play: Nothing could be worse, and little could be more expensive, for the Raiders than Javon Walker’s 2008. Seriously, like, Randy Moss’ 2006 was better than that. And besides, it’s not your money Uncle Al is spending; the man can always be put on IR.)

As Raider backers well know, Curry’s career has been bogged down by injury and underperformance. (Hey, I’m trying to be kind here...) Pressed into service in 2007 as a last-resort starter, Curry was even a good news/bad news story that year: The good news is that he finished second highest on the team in TDs; the bad news was that the total was four.

Curry’s departure, although inevitable, is tinged with a bit of bittersweet as well. A product of the class of 2002, Curry was the longest-serving Raider after Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski. Sad to say it seems likely that Curry’s playing days may be over in the NFL, especially now with Matt Millen out of the league.

Also sad but true: The Raiders may be better off without him. What is certain is that the team’s short-term future is brighter today than it was Wednesday. All in all, a decent start to the offseason; kudos to the Oakland front office.
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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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