Raiders’ Warren could become the Burgess of ‘07

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, August 23, 2007  |  Comments( 62 )

Oakland Raiders
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If there's a place and time for defensive tackle Gerard Warren to resurrect a somewhat inadequate career, it's in Oakland, and it's right now.

The 29-year-old ex-Denver Broncos lineman was traded to the Raiders this week for a conditional draft pick, reportedly a fifth-round selection if he makes the final roster. The division rival Broncos announced that they had planned to shop the 325-pounder around, and it was suspected that they would release Warren if no team bit.

Luckily, Denver found a customer, and it just happened to be in the same division.

However, according to Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, it wasn't out of desperation.

"It was not out of a need that we were disappointed with anybody that was playing for us or anything," Kiffin said earlier this week. "This was the ability to add somebody that could bring competition to us if he's in the right mind-set."

With Warren in the mix, Oakland's current list of playable defensive tackles includes veteran Warren Sapp, sixth-year defender Terdell Sands and Tommy Kelly, 26.

"Oakland was never brought up. I thought they were talking about Washington and Indianapolis," Warren told the Mercury News on Tuesday. "It was a surprise, especially being a (division) rival."

If the former third overall pick of the Browns can play to his potential, Oakland will be able to boast about this signing with the same confidence as the Derrick Burgess signing it initiated two years ago.

Burgess, who had previously played for the Philadelphia Eagles, was inked by the Raiders in March 2005 originally to be a rotational player. The 260-pound defensive end had missed 20 games throughout the '03 and '04 seasons thanks to injury with the Eagles; however, Oakland tested its luck with the oft-injured lineman anyway.

The result has been two healthy seasons, 27 sacks, 107 tackles and consecutive Pro Bowl bids.

At his best, Warren can also be a Pro Bowl-caliber lineman.

A former first-team All-SEC player in 1999, the DT recorded a career-best 61 tackles as a rookie with Cleveland, along with five sacks and three batted-down balls. In his six-year career (four years with the Browns, two with the Broncos), the 6-foot-4 end has racked up 199 tackles, 22 sacks and 10 passes defensed.

After two seasons with Denver in which he collected 5½ sacks and $6.5 million, though, the Broncos opted to deal Warren because they were changing from a one- to a two-gap defensive scheme.

Luckily, Oakland plays a one-gap scheme and the Broncos two times yearly.

For Warren, that should be enough motivation to show why he was once considered the third-best rookie in the NFL.

Anthony Carroll, a senior writer for RealFootball365.com, can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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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...
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