Thursday, May 01, 2008 | Posted by Anthony Carroll

On Monday, the Oakland Raiders sent Super Bowl XLI star Dominic Rhodes to the unemployment line. The move is an after-effect of a draft weekend that not only put the Raiders over the salary cap, but added another ball carrier to an already long list of more-than-capable halfbacks.

Oakland traded former first-round CB Fabian Washington to Baltimore on Day 2 of the draft, bearing a fourth round pick -- and a $1,093,750 cap hit -- in exchange. The swap ever so slightly put the Raiders over the salary cap.

Rhodes, however, was primed to earn $1.75 million in 2008. So, team owner Al Davis cut him. Problem solved. Oakland’s now under the cap.

With the Raiders having no apparent hesitation in cutting Rhodes, the next question becomes: What’s so hard about letting LaMont Jordan go?

The 29-year-old running back, who joined the Raiders in the offseason of 2005, is primed to rake in $4.7 million in 2008, or $2.95 million more than Rhodes would have made. If Jordan miraculously makes it past next season, he’ll earn $5 million in 2009.

Last season, Rhodes and Jordan played essentially reverse roles at opposite times in the season. Jordan acted as the warm-up guy to leading rusher Justin Fargas, carrying the ball 125 times in the first eight weeks of the season for 511 yards. For the rest of the season, the 230-pounder rushed only 19 more times for 38 yards. Rhodes was the closer, gaining 278 in the last three weeks of the season after rushing for just 24 yards in the 14 weeks prior.

The dilemma is where Jordan would actually bring value to the Raiders’ offense.

With Fargas recently being re-signed to a three-year, $12 million deal, second-year halfback Michael Bush reportedly fully recovered from injury and rookie Darren McFadden now in the fold, there isn’t much room for Jordan in the backfield.

Even as a pass catcher, the arrival of former Atlanta Falcons fullback Justin Griffith last offseason has lessened Jordan’s value. The 27-year-old FB caught 26 passes last season, upping his career total to 113 receptions. Jordan had just two more grabs last season than Griffith and had only 10 catches two years ago.

Rhodes, who closed out the ’07 campaign with two 100-plus-yard efforts, appeared to make enough late-season buzz to earn himself a spot on the roster this season. At the very least, you’d expect him to be cut after Jordan. However, Rhodes clarified Tuesday that he was aware he’d be let loose if McFadden was drafted.

“If they drafted Darren McFadden, I was like, ‘I’ll restructure but it’s got to be to where if y’all draft him I can leave, you know. Y’all let me go.’ That’s kind of how it went. They kept their word and they let me get a chance to go somewhere else and get my opportunity,” Rhodes said during an interview with Sirius Satellite Radio.

Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle indicated one reason why Jordan also hasn’t been shown the door alongside Rhodes.

“The Raiders are holding onto Jordan, a league source said, because some in the organization believe they can still get trade value for the man who ran for 1,025 yards in 2005,” Chronicle staff writer David White wrote.

It’s very unlikely, however, for a team to trade for a man who has had back-to-back seasons with fewer than 600 yards and four touchdowns.

So just cut him and get it over with, before he starts getting advice from ex-way-too-long-of-a-Raider Tyler Brayton.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at

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