RaiderBeat.com Staff
Left offensive tackle Khalif Barnes signed a one-year deal with the Raiders on Saturday afternoon, ESPN reported.
RaiderBeat.com first reported earlier that the two sides were back in negotiations after talks broke off at the beginning of the week.
“I think this is a great opportunity and place for me to start fresh,” Barnes told ESPN’s John Clayton. “I’m excited to be part of helping this franchise get back on top and I will have a shot to be the starter at left tackle and that’s all I can ask for.
“I have a lot to prove and I’m betting on myself by agreeing to a one-year contract. (Raiders owner) Mr. (Al) Davis has a track record of taking care of his own guys, and he promised me the same, if I take care of my business on and off the field.”
Barnes, 26, spent the past four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars as their primary starter at left offensive tackle. His signing gives the Raiders a proven player to take the place of released veteran Kwame Harris.
Also, Barnes’ signing makes it far less likely that the Raiders will use their first-round selection in the NFL Draft on April 25-26 on one of the many promising offensive tackles available.
The Raiders signed Harris during the offseason last year and plugged him into the left offensive tackle spot despite the fact the 49ers had replaced him at right offensive tackle the previous season. Not surprisingly, Harris failed to meet the lofty expectations of Davis, coach Lane Kiffin and offensive line coach Tom Cable.
Cable now is the Raiders coach, and he pushed hard for Davis to sign Barnes. Now, Cable is convinced that he has a player talented enough to protect quarterback JaMarcus Russell’s blindside, as well as play at a high level without committing a huge number of penalties.
Harris led all offensive linemen in penalties and sacks allowed at the time he was benched by Cable in favor of second-year player Mario Henderson. It’s not conceivable that Henderson will compete against newcomer Erik Pears and returning veteran Cornell Green for the starting spot on the right side.
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THANK GOD.. ANYONE BESIDES K.HARRIS IS A +
I WASNT A FAN OF THE B.SIMS PASS PROTECTION.. BUT K.HARRIS TOOK THE CAKE..
SIMS COST THE RAIDERS THE SUPERBOWL. HE WAS OUR K.HARRIS OF THAT GAME. BEFORE THE FG. PLAY.. THE PLAY WERE GANNON WAS FIRST SACKED BY S.RICE. IF ONLY SIMS WOULDVE HOLD RICE FOR 2 MORE SEC. GANNON WOULDVE SEEN AN OPEN JERRY PORTER IN THE MID FIELD.. FOR A WIDE OPEN TD. BUT HE WAS RUNNING OUT OF BOUNDS. AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
thats wuz sup Good look 4 both side’s!!!
we still need a center and an outside LB. Its looking like the Raiders are going to draft for these spots. The only question is the Raiders need to take a rear seat in the draft order. Lions have alot of good picks( 1st in ever round), so I see a possible trade with the Raiders for #7 and trade down.
Its depth and a proven starter in this league, something we desperately needed. One year deal and he will compete for the LT position.
It’s not everyday you can sign a starting LT at the age of 26. I just wished we would lock these guys up for two years, because if he playes off the charts, he’ll probably leave the Raiders.
I just hope Al thinks this doesn’t solve our LT position and if one Jason Smith, somehow falls to us, we don’t pass on him.
Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe are certain to be taken before 7th. The Lions, Hawks, Rams, and Bengals all need an OT. I seem to be alone in this, but I think we have to take Crabtree if he’s there. We missed out on CJ2 because we missed on Cutler/Leinart a few years ago. And we’ve been playing catch-up (offensively) in the draft following.
So to get a guy like Crabtree to fill out our star power on offense, Al could completely focus on the Dline, seconday and OLB positions which we desperately need help at.
Cable has proven he can take avg players, plug them in and make it work. Barnes is 26 and startable. You are right we should be locking these guys down for a couple years at least though.
I dont see the point in trading down. If its not Crabtree, its got to be one of the tackle (Smith, Smith, or Monroe). I really hope it doesnt end up being a guy like Maclin/Harvin.
What about Henderson at LT and barnes AT RT? We need WR help gm, crabtree or Maclin sounds good………Pc
IF HE IS AROUND AT 7 I SAY TAKE CURRY AT OLB OR TRADE DOWN THE DRAFT IS DEEP IN TALENT AT WR WE CAN GET ROBISKE IN THE SECOND OR IF WE TRADE DOWN WE CAN GET A GOOD DE AND CENTER IN THE FIRST AND STILL GET ROBISKE OR ANOTHER GOOD RECEIVER IN THE SECOND THEN BUILD DL LB AND SAFETY LATER OR IF BY SOME MIRACLE RAJI FALLS TO SEVEN TAKE HIM BUT WE STILL HAVE TH TRADE DOWN OPTION WHERE WE CAN GET HIS TEAMMATE BRACE A CENTER AND A RECEIVER IN THE SECOND PHILLY WOULD BE THE IDEAL TRADE PARTNER
this guy turned us down at first. did he eat some humble pie or what?
Welcome to the Nation Barnes. All eyes are on you now, so step up and earn that long term, big $$ contract. Keep JR upright and give him the time he needs to make ACCURATE throws. He needs to step up this year and do something about that sorry completion and 3rd down conversion percentage. Your here to help him achieve that.
Now i beleave we should trade down and pick up a.mack from cal sure up our o line and here come the winns
We need line help more pcblack and without that it doesn’t matter who the wideouts are if your QB has no time to throw.
but ghost russells the lynchpin of this team.. i think we addressed our ol. he needs people to throw it to..i can remeber greg papa saying more than once,than there was just nobody open…what goods the golden arm without anyone to catch it? I agree we still need an upgrade at center,but i think they are ready to go with the p/us they got. You really think JlH,Schilens and i need a Walker are good enough? I dont..Kiper compares maclin to Branch(which should make Al drool),and has us taking him with crabtree being gone to cincy. Plus he fills a need at KR….Its been proven you can get good ol later but the elite wrs dont last long in drafts..Plus who got a better chance of helping us right away? The WR i say,then address other needs,who unless they play center probably are kick cover guys for this year..pc
Pcblack how has the OL been addressed.
We have Wade listed as the starter at center, I will be kind a journeyman at best. Cornell Green is still the starter at RT until displaced.
Henderson in 3 years have played 3 meaningful games and survived with a lot of RB and OG help in those last 3 games.
We all love shiny things but good football are more then adequate along their OL and DL.
I haven’t even addressed the DL. We need another pass rusher (in particular since our best one is 33 years old…). Our DT play last year was some of the worse in the NFL.
You cannot win football games without building line quality and depth because there will be injuries.
WHen have drafted shiny new objects the last two seasons, and I supported both of those picks….(1) Because in todays NFL you need a franchise QB & I believe JR can be special and (2) because I think McFadden is special. However, if you don’t put people on the field that can give them space to operate they are going to be busts.
You can get WRs all over the draft board who become probowlers, it is silly to burn a #7b pick on a guy who might be involved in the play maybe 10-15 times a game. The Raiders like the Lions in 2007 do not have that luxary.
sure center and rt are needs,but all the stud lts will be gone,as well as raji at 7. Look what pittsburgh did with an average ol,and good wrs. Also az. I think the dt and lb can still be filled in fa,but signing pears and barnes tells me they are done with ol pickups. We dont have was and dallas kind of money for free agents so maybe als waiting for the bottom to drop out and get good veterans cheap. Also i wouldnt forget about mcqusitan as having a good chance of starting,and mario for sure. I understand what your saying about the trenches,but history shows that a good skills player can have a bigger immediate impact in the draft than ol or dl…Plus we sucked excpet for the last few weeks in passing…i think we were like 28th in passing last season..And last TDs put asses in the seats,so Crabtree or Maclin make sense..Dont ever forget that sports is a buisness first..And not scoring any points dont help the bottom line.p.s.-were no where near as bad as Detroit..pc
a perfect example of how sports biz trumps good football sense sometimes is Favre to the jets last season. Even thou hes over the hill his buzz sold tickets and merchandise. We had a similar thing with moss a few years back,i still see people walking around with moss jerseys here in vegas..Anyway my point is sports biz esp with this economy will have more buzz with owners,and if we can get crabtree esp. holy shit…the fans will be running to the ticket window. Doesnt always make football sense but its a biz and its entertainment…
P.s- i dont thin our defense was that bad last year,i think ryan was part of the problem,as well as no balance between the o and d,were the d was on the field too long and tired late in games…u need balance in time of possesion if nothing else,but i appreciate this blog and ur opinons…pc
Everyone please go look at the WR Stats in theB12….
Crabtree and Maclin struggled against good corners out of conference…
Here are some numbers to think about…
Dezmon Briscoe 92 rec and 1497 yds & 15 TDs for Kansas
Kerry Meier 97 catches 1045 yards & 8 TDs for Kansas ….Kansas had two WRs with almost 200 catches and 2500 yards.
Quan Cosby 92 grabs and 1123 yards w/10TDs
Jordan Shipley 89 catches and 1060 yards w/11TDs… Texas
Dez Bryant 87 catches for 1480 yards w/19 TDs… OSU
Only one team in the B12 didn’t have at least one WR catch 60 passes last season.
The pass defense in that conference was some of the worse in recent memory.
THe stats that have veryone flipping over Maclin and Crabtree need to be put into some perspective.
You will get a WR in the second round who is as good as Maclin or Crabtree. They are way overrated.
why does scouts inc on espn have crabtree no 2 overall then?
OK Scouts inc and ESPN are always right.
The Raiders should have drafted Lienart or Young.
Brady Quinn was the best QB in the 2007 draft.
Gallery, despite his very short arms, is cannot miss sure thing Pro Bowl LT for the next 10 years.
I believe my own eyes. Crabtree blows up against sub-par competetion. Ditto with Maclin.
The pass defense in the B12 has been horrendous the last 2 seasons.
Crabtree and Maclin are slot recievers.
Neither has been asked to run patterns. In factg Maclin is used exactly the same way Harvin. The difference Floridia plays in a conference with many NFL caliber DBs.
YOu cannot take these stats at face value and you have to be careful what you buy from “Darft -experts”. Real scouts often have a different view from these guys.
Mike Lombardi has actually sat in on draft meetings with scouts (not just in Oakland) and been in a draft room and understands how these decisions are made. You may not like him or his opinions but he isn’t guessing or pulling stuff out of ass like a lot of these guys are.
Al does not like to use high picks on WRs. He thinks athletic ability is the most important attribute for a WR. Outrageous speed for example. However, he thinks you can find WRs in the later rounds who can be coached up. Maclin’s 40 times are nothing special for a 6 foot 195-200 pound guy. He doesn’t have the size/speed ratio that Al looks for. Would have taken Rice, yes where the 49ers took him, yes but not at the top of the draft.
i know we dont take lb that high,and we desperatly need help on offense ,we were 29th in 2008. I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Btw i dont think Brady was in the same draft as young and leinart.They went in 2006, quinn in 2007. I still feel Young(who we wanted) has the biggest upside long term.
That being said if the raiders feel the same way as u do,they will take a center or safety with the first pick(but are any good enough at #7),since they dont like lbs so high. Maybe ray ray will be the pick ,but i think offense is the way to go…I think ultimatley it will be who has a chance to make the biggest impact since we a re going young. btw they have been say good things about trevor scott on espn and nfl.com,so the raIDERS MAY FEEL OK ON THAT ACCOUNT.. pc
red piano…
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