Walker given walking papers, Raiders reloaded for free agency

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, February 24, 2009  |  Comments( 31 )

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You won’t have Javon Walker to kick around anymore, Oakland Raiders fans. Of course, you also won’t have Javon Walker around for which to hope against hope for a personal and professional comeback.

Altered since New Year’s Day 2007, when then-Denver Broncos teammate Darrent Williams died in a drive-by shooting with Walker present, the wide receiver has never been the same and never lived up to the reputation he’d built in his first four seasons in the NFL. Raider fans surely recall Walker’s Las Vegas incident of last June, and Al Davis’ subsequent reported convincing of Walker to, you know, just give it another shot.

Imagine having to give a pep talk to a guy you’ve already promised $11 million; that summed up Walker’s feelings for the game eight months ago. One TD catch and a stint on the IR later, and the troubled Walker will most likely be leaving the game completely. Indeed, Davis & Co. were so willing to depart with this NFL equivalent of the Hindenburg that they took a $3.3 million salary-cap *hit* to cut Walker loose.

With the release of Walker, the 2009 offseason continues to take on the appearance of a 2008 RESET button for Davis: Walker follows Kwame Harris, Kalimba Edwards, Ronald Curry, Justin Griffith, and – does anyone get this one yet? – Gibril Wilson out the door. The Raiders have now accumulated $11.3 million in salary-cap space: That’s a lotta Monopoly money for Uncle Al to play with, eh?

Aside from the Wilson move, few in the Raiders’ camp would dispute the rationality behind any of the recent cuts. And so, leaving behind the question as to why these disasters weren’t addressed going into last season, the Oakland front office reloads for another freewheeling, big-spending free-agency period. The Raider Nation can look forward to some serious changes, and most likely improvement, to the roster for the 2009 season.

It’s just that...

Well, when was the last time a winning NFL team was built through free agency? If memory serves, that would have been, um ... approximately ... never.

Consider the best aspect of the Raider roster with regard to the medium-term future: It’s the offensive skill players! With any luck, Davis will be able to keep recent Raider draftees Darren McFadden, JaMarcus Russell, Michael Bush, Zach Miller, Chaz Schilens and Johnnie Lee Higgins in silver and black while fostering the gobs of latent talent here. As for the ‘D’, both Kirk Morrison and Nnamdi Asomugha are products of Raider drafts; the former will presumably be re-signed in 2010 while the latter is happily on board for the short term.

So you’ve attained the arsenal for your offensive attack and the heart of your defense (a respectable 10th in the league against the pass last season) through the draft; how should you handle that extra $11.3 million? Carefully, Uncle Al! The team needs sensible additions for this young, potentially dynamic team: accent pieces, if you will. Blue-collar, non-household names for the offensive line. (On the other hand, Marvin Harrison is out there...)

In the meantime, this writer will continue to attempt to figure out the Wilson thing. Was it was really worth $1.5 million?
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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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CommentsComments: 31  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Haywood Jablome Eggin		02:57 AM
02/24/2009
I'm glad the Raiders have taken out the trash.They might find a lttle more,before thursday. As far as you asking about Wilson,He...
No.2
IERAIDER		03:06 AM
02/24/2009
good.. thought he was a waste of money. also still trying to figure out the wilson thing yeah he said a few bad things about the...
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No.3
The Franchise		03:12 AM
02/24/2009
8-8 is honestly gonna be a stretch, i would be ecstatic with it but have you seen the schedule? we are gonna have to play some...
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