After years of exercising restraint in the offseason, the Raiders are closing shop on their most aggressive offseason, from a personnel standpoint, since Al Davis was roaming the sidelines in Oakland.
The crown jewel of Jon Gruden’s offseason, of course, was the addition of Antonio Brown. We know a lot about the way Brown ended up a Raider, but Gruden offered another interesting nugget to Peter King in King’s Football Morning In America column on Monday.
“… I get a call from [Pittsburgh VP and cap guy] Omar Khan,” Gruden said of the moment trade talks started to heat up between the Steelers and Raiders.
“He’s like, ‘Hey what about a second-round pick for Antonio Brown?’ Free-agency’s about to start and I’m thinking, ‘Man, all these slot receivers are going for $10 million. Some of these players are going for $15 million. Why don’t we just give him the second? Get Antonio Brown!’ I call Mike and I said, ‘Why don’t we just give the Steelers the second and get this guy?’ Mike says, ‘That’s a little rich still. Let me talk to [Steelers GM] Kevin Colbert.’ Now he talks to Kevin Colbert and he says, ‘I think we can get him for a three and a five.’ I said, ‘Get the hell outta here!'”
It’s certainly interesting that Gruden admitted he was ready to drop a second-round pick on Brown, but Gruden did give the Steelers a third-round pick for Martavis Bryant last year, so we shouldn’t be too surprised he was willing to pay more for Brown. Maybe we’ll call it even with Pittsburgh now.
Given the timeline Gruden offered, the Raiders were apparently never really in the mix during all the reports out of Pittsburgh that trade talks for Brown were heating up in the weeks before he was ultimately traded to the Raiders – basically that was just being drummed up by the Steelers. It’s also clear the Raiders never offered more than a third-round pick for Brown. Whatever the Raiders original offer, general manager Mike Mayock comes away once again looking like a genius and the voice of reason in the Raiders building.
But that’s a detail we’ve mostly known for a while.
For what it’s worth, the Raiders ended up trading their second-round pick (twice actually) and the haul for that pick ended up being cornerback Trayvon Mullen, cornerback Isaiah Johnson, tight end Foster Moreau, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow (cost was an additional seventh-round pick), and defensive end Quinton Bell. Without their second-round pick, it’s possible the Raiders wouldn’t have been able to maneuver around and draft some (or any) of the names on that list.
Turns out the Raiders might be rewarded for using some restraint this offseason, after all.
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