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News hit yesterday that Justin Griffith and Kwame Harris were cut. Harris came as an expected move, to clear a huge amount of cap space and finally put an end to what might be the best LT that couldn't get his head on straight. No love lost here. On a bit more surprising note: Justin Griffith was cut. This clears cap space and it is quite a bit for what would seem to be a backup FB. Oren O'Neal is by far the better blocking back. Griffith might be more useful to a team who has him catch passes and run a little bit. This role is disappearing in the league and keeping Griffith would have been a luxury. Hopefully Big O is ready to go. This move could also be a sign that we will run more two back sets and wildcat next season. Putting two or three of Fargas, McFadden and Bush in the same backfield could be potentially dangerous. Bush and McFadden could both take a snap or two in a wildcat like formation, with the other two RBs on the field as well. I am sure the coaching staff

Shocking news today was the release of Gibril Wilson, Kalimba Edwards and Ronald Curry. Curry wasn't a surprise at all, as his release had been speculated for weeks. Edwards was a bit of a shock, but with the depth of DE available in the draft his cap number ultimately made him expendable. The biggest surprise was the cut of Gibril Wilson. Signed last season for big money, he seemed to be the only signing to pan out from last season. He had a good, yet unspectacular season. I think what this came down to was money. He had a big cap number which we probably wanted to move back as part of a restructuring. Wilson probably didn't want to do this because he was unhappy here. We decided, like the Giants the year before, that there wouldn't be a significant drop-off without Wilson on the roster. I can actually see some purpose for this cut outside of the cap ramifications. He is a liability in coverage and although you can give Hall most of the hate for getting beat, often times i

There is obviously different ways these salary cap things are being computed. So let me simplify it by scenario and year. In millions, think of this as purely salary cap figures. Walker stays on the team in 2009: $5 Roster Bonus ( Guaranteed ) $4 Base $1.83 Prorated Signing Bonus 2009 Cap Number = $10.83 Walker is cut: $5 Roster Bonus (Guaranteed) $1.83 Prorated Signing Bonus X Remaing 5 years of contract 2009 Cap Number = $14.15 Cap number to cap number comparison here. Basic as it gets, we can either take Walker's cap number at $10.83 and hope to get some production out of him, or we can cut him loose and take the cap number of $14.15. $14.15 for nothing, or $10.83 for maybe something. Walker is not going anywhere because it would cost us more salary cap room to cut him. If the $5 million roster bonus wasn't guaranteed this is what it would look like, and is what I computed before (it was my oversight on the guaranteed nature of his $5 roster bonus). $1.83 X 5 = $9.15 Save by

Guess what Raider fans? We locked up Asomugha for three years. Really, it is voidable after two seasons. Unless we pay him the higher of $16.8 million in 2011 or the franchise number for QBs. Here is the genius behind this contract. If the NFL owners lockout the players next season to avoid an uncapped year, Asomugha wont be paid for that season. When an agreement is worked out, it is likely the contract will be pushed back a year or will go into the voidable third year. If in negotiations, the league and players union abolish the franchise tag, it will only be the $16.8 million number. With the likelihood of a rookie wage scale, proven NFL veteran contracts will skyrocket, making $16.8 million a discount for a guy like Asomugha. This is a lockout friendly contract. With the guarantees in the first two years there is a good chance it isn't all in the form of a signing bonus, which is also lockout friendly. Contracts have never gotten in the way of what we have tried to do. When

Chris Johnson's salary is modest for what people were expecting. Just a $3.85 million per year average salary. There is always at least a slight advantage to signing guys before they hit the market that were already on your team. I think CJ wanted to be here, and gave us a small discount. He gains respect from the fans for wanting to be a Raider. On the flip side Lechler get $3 million a year average, which is less than expected, and also proves to me Davis hasn't lost it like everyone thinks. Losing Lechler would completely change the field position game for us. That is one very important thing for a team trying to turn around losing ways. Do these guys believe in Cable? Is Davis more in control of his emotions? Time will tell. The biggest question looming is who will be cut, who will restructure? $6 million–T Kwame Harris - GONE $5.372 million–G Robert Gallery - STAYS, No Restructure $5 million–WR Javon Walker - GONE, See Below $5 million–RB Darren McFadden - STAYS, No Restru

Looks like we locked up one of the guys we really wanted to keep. That is Chris Johnson, the guy who jumped past probowler Hall and 2nd round selection Routt to play good football down the stretch. He got a four yet deal with terms undisclosed. A few more years than normally would give a guy but my guess if the last year is mostly base, an he could be let go if his skills are diminishing. I like CJ, and hopefully we can sign Asomugha to a longterm deal rather than franchise him and lose him next offseason. Sent from my iPhone