Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders waived defensive end Arden Key on Thursday, but the former LSU star said that the move was the "best thing that could have happened."

Kenny King Jr. of Just Blog Baby relayed a statement from Key on Friday:

The Raiders selected Key with the 87th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. The defensive end played 37 games in silver and black, amassing 49 tackles, 26 quarterback hits and three sacks.    

Key started 10 of 16 possible games in 2018 but was a reserve in his last two years with the Raiders.

Key wasn't the only Raider to get waived Thursday, as Las Vegas also parted ways with defensive tackle Maurice Hurst. The 2018 fifth-round pick had 76 tackles and eight sacks over three seasons with the Raiders.

Like Key, Hurst was primarily a starter in 2018. However, he started just seven of his 27 games in 2019 and 2020.

Key is only 24 years old, while Hurst is 25, so it's possible they'll catch on elsewhere with a team looking to tap into their potential. Key in particular was dominant at times in college, amassing 11 sacks in 2017.

Add the Las Vegas Raiders to the list of NFL teams that will have some players sitting out in-person voluntary offseason workouts because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NFL Players Association released a statement on behalf of those Raiders players explaining their position:

Las Vegas is far from the only team with players to make such a decision.

The NFLPA also released statements on behalf of the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.

"Given the data and facts shared by our union about reduced injuries and other health benefits of the virtual off-season last year, players from our team will not participate in a voluntary in-person workout program," the statement said. 

"We respect those players on our team and across the NFL who have contractual incentives linked to their participation in the program, but we stand in solidarity with our fellow players who are making the best decision on behalf of themselves and their families."

On Wednesday, the NFL announced the first phase of the offseason program will start Monday and run through May 14. The second phase runs from May 17-21, and the third phase goes from May 24 through June 18.

Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports noted the NFLPA hoped to have another virtual offseason ahead of the 2021 campaign much like what happened in 2020.

Yet the league appears to be gradually moving toward more in-person activities. It will have an in-person draft on April 29 after last year's was virtual, and there will likely be fans in attendance at games once the season starts.

When the Las Vegas Raiders inked Jon Gruden to a whopping 10-year, $100 million contract to once again become the team's head coach back in 2018, it was supposed to spur a return to the franchise's glory days. A renewed commitment to excellence. Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock were going to get the Raiders back into the postseason after the team made the playoffs just once since getting drilled by Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Instead, three years into Gruden's second stint, the Raiders are 14 games under .500 with no playoff appearances. And if the team's disjointed offseason to date is any indication, that return to the postseason won't be coming in 2021.

The latest puzzling move came on Friday. As Myles Simmons reported for Pro Football Talk, the team signed offensive tackle Kolton Miller to a multi-year extension that includes a robust $42.6 million in guarantees. Given that the 25-year-old is only just now entering his fourth season in the league, even he admitted in the post-signing press conference that he was a bit surprised by the timing of the extension.

"I was actually surprised coming out of Year Three, coming into Year Four," Miller said. "You dream about this when you're a little kid and through the season. But I'm excited — definitely excited — to continue my career here, continue to work hard and prove the coaches, prove this team that I'm invested and I'm going to continue to get better."

This isn't to say that Miller isn't worth locking up long-term—after an uneven rookie season the 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft has improved over the past two years, starting 30 games over that span. Last year Miller played 961 snaps and allowed just two sacks.

But the reality is that there was little reason for the Raiders to do this now. As a first-round pick (with a fifth-year option), Miller was already locked up through at least 2022. Outside of potentially buying the team a bit of short-term cap relief, the move is a puzzler.

And it's far from the only head-scratcher along the offensive line in Las Vegas over the past several weeks.

As Ian Rapoport reported for NFL.com, prior to the beginning of free agency, the Raiders shipped mauling right tackle Trent Brown (and a 2022 seventh-round pick) to the New England Patriots for a 2022 fifth-round pick. That was followed (per ESPN) by the Raiders trading Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2021 third-round pick and Vegas dealing guard Gabe Jackson to the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round pick.

Yes, Brown has struggled to stay on the field since signing a four-year, $66 million contract with the Raiders in 2019. And all three players carried an average annual salary north of $10 million. But it was Mayock who drew up two of those pacts. All three of those players are higher-end starters, and both Brown and Hudson have Pro Bowls on their NFL resume.

As Vic Tafur reported for the Athletic, Raiders O-line coach Tom Cable tried to downplay the loss of Hudson by talking up his replacement in Andre James.

"When you're trying to build a top-level team, you need people of high quality and character like that," Cable said. "It's tough to lose a guy like Rodney, but at the same time, I think those are a lot of the characteristics that Andre James brings to this deal. He just hasn't done it as much, obviously."

But the cold, hard truth is that the Raiders effectively blew up an offensive line that was a strength of the team and got little in return. Now Las Vegas has to hope that Miller will live up to that fat new contract and become the anchor for the team's O-line. That 37-year-old Richie Incognito has something left in the tank after missing 14 games in 2020. That James or free-agent addition Nick Martin can step into the void at the pivot.

And even if all those things happen, the Raiders probably won't be as good up front as they were a year ago.

The confusing moves go beyond the offensive line. Despite the presence of one of the better young running backs in the NFL in Josh Jacobs, the Raiders handed free agent running back Kenyan Drake $11 million in guarantees. After losing Nelson Agholor in free agency following a career season, the Raiders signed John Brown and Willie Snead IV, making second-year pro Henry Ruggs III the team's No. 1 wideout and leaving quarterback Derek Carr with the shakiest WR corps in the AFC West.

This isn't to say that every move the Raiders made in free agency was shaky. After managing just 21 sacks last year (fourth-fewest in the league) the signing of Yannick Ngakoue added some desperately needed pop to the pass rush. Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas was the No. 3 overall pick in 2017 and was certainly worth a low-cost, one-year flier.

But all in all, there isn't a team in the division that took a bigger step backward in free agency than the Raiders. They certainly don't appear to have done anything to narrow the gap between them and the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.

It's also hard to have too much confidence in the Raiders ability to turn things around in the 2021 NFL draft given that Mayock's early-round picks have included as many misses as hits.

As Levi Edwards reported for the team's website, at the outset of free agency Mayock insisted that he believes the Raiders are headed in the right direction.

"What gets me excited though is trying to apply what we learned last year, trying to get better and more than anything, you guys remember what we talked about Day 1 when I walked in this building: We talked about foundation players and what's a Raider fit. And that's what we want this year, both in free agency and draft. We want to bring the right fit of person into this building and we want to create something special and we think we're getting close."

But three years into Gruden 2.0, the Raiders don't appear to really have a direction. For every position group that got a boost this offseason (like the pass rush) there's another that backslid (like the offensive line). It's one step forward, two steps back.

The Raiders are a rudderless (pirate) ship sailing in circles.

And another sub-.500 season is looking more likely by the day.

The Las Vegas Raiders have agreed to a three-year contract extension with offensive tackle Kolton Miller, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

The deal is reportedly worth more than $18 million per year and features $42.6 million in guaranteed money.

Miller had one year remaining on his rookie contract plus a fifth-year team option for 2022, so the current deal keeps him under team control through 2025.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network provided more details on the new deal:

The new deal puts Miller among the top five in the NFL in average annual salary among offensive tackles, per Spotrac.

The 2018 first-round pick immediately became a reliable option anchoring the offensive line for Las Vegas, starting all 32 regular-season games at left tackle during his first two years.

He remained a starter in 2020 but missed two games because of an ankle injury.

Miller is still a difference-maker when healthy, grading out as the 10th-best pass-blocking tackle in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus. The Raiders only allowed 28 sacks as a team in 2020, 10th-fewest in the league.

A long-term deal for the left tackle provides the offense with stability moving forward despite going four years without a playoff berth.

Marcus Mariota is expected to sign a reworked deal with the Las Vegas Raiders that will be worth $3.5 million for one year, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Rapoport noted the Raiders had initially sought an even bigger paycut:

Per Over The Cap, Mariota had been in line to receive a base salary of $10.6 million in 2021, with an additional $4.6 million available in bonuses.

This reworked deal comes after the Oregon product was named in multiple trade rumors in February. Rapoport previously reported "there's legitimate and real interest in Mariota," while noting it appeared as if the Raiders wanted to keep starting quarterback Derek Carr. 

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated echoed that sentiment in February: "While there were rumors floating around that the asking price for Carr was two first-round picks last week, I was told pretty emphatically that Carr isn't available. But the Raiders will listen on Mariota."

It also wasn't that long ago that Mariota appeared to have a bright future after the Tennessee Titans selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft following a collegiate career at Oregon that saw him win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Ducks to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

He threw for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in his second NFL season in 2016 and followed up with 3,232 passing yards and 18 total touchdowns in 2017.

Mariota also led the Titans to a playoff victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in that 2017 campaign.

However, he has not been able to replicate that success since and eventually lost his starting job in Tennessee. The Raiders signed him to a two-year deal prior to the 2020 season, but he made just one appearance last year.

That came in a December divisional showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers after Carr suffered an early injury.

While Las Vegas lost the game in overtime, Mariota impressed with nine rushes for 88 yards and a touchdown while going 17-of-28 for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception through the air.

Now, it appears Mariota will return to the Raiders for at least one more season, albeit under a reworked deal.