http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal...o_jack_th.html
Oakland's got a kicker making $4 million a year and a punter making $4 million a year, so maybe this all shouldn't be so shocking.
But still ...
The Raiders tender CB Stanford Routt -- who started one game last fall -- at the first- and third-round level. They tender long-snapper Jon Condo at the second-round level. And then they tender Kirk Morrison at the original-draft level (third round, in Morrison's case).
Huh? I'm all for sound special teams and defensive depth, but Morrison's been a tackling machine for the Raiders. He's a true three-down middle linebacker, having played in 1,041 of Oakland's 1,096 defensive snaps in 2009 (21 of those missed were in a game, vs. Houston, in which he got hurt). He was on the sideline for a total of 12 snaps in the season's final 12 weeks. And he's still just 28 years old.
Again ... huh?
Looks like the Patriots have an opportunity here to move in and poach another Raider, and one with some experience playing for an ex-New England assistant (Rob Ryan). The one hang-up is that New England doesn't have a third-round pick right now, meaning they'd either have to get one or work something out with Oakland (hasn't been an issue in the past).
The other problem: This guy ain't flying under the radar. He's just what the doctor ordered for the New York Giants, looking to replace Antonio Pierce, and could be a consolation prize in the Karlos Dansby Sweepstakes for a team like Miami. So he probably won't come cheap.
But I know the idea of pairing a guy like Morrison with Jerod Mayo's a tantalizing thought for people around here.