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The Las Vegas Raiders bring a dose of their trademark madman to a third hometown.
Over the past week, the number of Raiders retiring players has grown to three. Running back Theo Riddick was the first to leave last week, followed by linebacker James Onwualu who retired on Monday.
Then, on Tuesday, offensive tackle Sam Young asked three Raiders players to announce their decision to hang up their boots.
On top of that, Tuesday also saw a report from Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal. indicating that Vice President of Strategy and Business Development Brandon Doll has left the team. This news follows the announcement by team president Marc Badain of his departure two weeks ago.
And just to come full circle, backing coach Kirby Wilson unexpectedly retired just before camp started.
So what the hell is going on in Vegas? Well, for starters, it’s not clear if there is any connection whatsoever.
Why 3 players retired in such a short time
Along with Riddick, he tested positive for COVID-19 and then announced he was walking away. Riddick turned 30 in March and it would have been his ninth season in the NFL, so it’s hard to call it gorgeous – especially amid the gossip he was considering retiring before he was diagnosed with COVID.
Young also cannot be taken as a shock. He turned 34 this summer and was entering his 12th season, so he can hardly be called a spring chicken in football terms.
Onwualu is only 26 years old, which makes him the most surprising of the three players. He’s played in just 16 games over four seasons and has been hanging on to a job in the NFL since joining the league.
And the executives?
The Badain exodus is the most surprising – and perhaps impactful – of all the departures. He was one of the most senior officials in the entire operation, and the team are preparing to move into the Allegiant Stadium with fans for the first time after playing there last season with empty seats.
This brings us to Doll. He apparently left the team last week and his name no longer appears on the team header. Doll declined to comment on why he left.
Doll had been with the Raiders for the past eight years, starting as a finance intern and moving on to Badain’s right-hand man role. They first worked together to secure a contract with the Raiders in Oakland (this did not happen) before moving the franchise to Las Vegas and negotiating the construction of the Allegiant Stadium. According to Doll’s former team bio, he focused on “strategic partnerships and growth initiatives related to the core businesses of Allegiant Stadium and the Raiders.”
Now, with the Raiders less than two weeks away from hosting a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, the two executives are out. Why? We don’t have a clear picture.
A common link with departures?
The only common denominators between the retired players and the two executives, one might reasonably conclude, are team owner Mark Davis and head coach Jon Gruden. Is one of them responsible for this exodus? It’s hard to say.
It’s possible that Gruden and Davis share some responsibility in at least some of the starts, especially with the superiors, but connecting the career decisions of three random players, two executives and an assistant coach is a difficult exercise in this regard. stadium until proven otherwise.
Still, it’s hard not to worry about the direction of the franchise. The Raiders thrived in the turmoil, but this is a franchise that has only finished above 0.500 once since 2002. Major roster changes in recent years have not worked. better results.
Who knows what might happen next? Gruden is entering year four of a 10-year, $ 100 million contract and isn’t expected to leave anytime soon on his own, unless it comes with a massive buyout. The feeling is that Davis is also not relinquishing control of the team, having inherited the franchise from his late father.
If the Raiders want to figure it out, it’ll likely be with Gruden and Davis staying in their posts. For the best or for the worst.
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