Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tag for Brandon Myers?
By Tim Kavanagh
The Oakland Raiders are in a bit of a bind as they continue to dig their roster out of salary cap hell. There are certainly some players to be released that will help massage their cap number down a bit, but they're going to have to be smart with any new deals for either internal free agents or players signed in the market.
That brings us to Brandon Myers, the TE who had a breakout season in 2012. On any other roster, he'd be a fantastic candidate for the franchise tag; let him have one more "prove it" year before investing big. The projected tag tender number for TEs is also the second lowest of any position (behind only K/P), at $5.962 million. And if the Raiders weren't in such a financial bind, it would be more of a foregone conclusion that he'd be back. Here's Matt Williamson of Scouts, Inc. on how Myers could function in the new offense being installed by Greg Olson:
"Myers certainly understands when to sit it down versus zone coverage and runs sharp enough routes to get open versus man as well," Williamson noted, via ESPN AFC West blogger Bill Williamson. "Oakland's receivers have a lot of talent, but are just so erratic and inconsistent with their routes and responsibilities ... which makes Myers alluring for this passing game. Oakland should bring him back if possible."
Here's Bill Williamson analyzing the chances that it will happen:
Bill Williamson
Will Oakland keep Brandon Myers?"This is a solid class of free agents in free agency, so it will be intriguing to see what Myers can fetch on the open market. He is one of Oakland's priority free agents and the Raiders will likely try to keep him. Oakland doesn't have any other proven tight ends and with a roster that is lacking in overall talent and has other needs, keeping Myers may be paramount. I think it will come down to the market and Oakland's means, but keeping Myers should be at the top of the Raiders' to-do list."
