Martavis Bryant is finally getting his wish for a change of scenery.
The Steelers have traded Bryant to the Raiders for the No. 79 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh announced Thursday night.
A frustrated Bryant requested a trade last October after falling behind JuJu Smith-Schuster in the wide-receiver rotation. The former Clemson star fell down the depth chart due to a drug-related suspension that wiped out his entire 2016 season. More
HOUSTON – The New England Patriots will play the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City during the 2017 regular season, the NFL officially announced Wednesday. More
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders finished the regular season with the No. 6-ranked total offense in the NFL and scored the seventh-most points in the league, as quarterback Derek Carr ascended into the NFL’s MVP conversation before suffering a broken fibula in Week 16. More
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders will be without star left tackle Donald Penn for their playoff opener against Houston.
The Raiders said Friday that Penn would be inactive after injuring his left knee in the regular-season finale against Denver. More
When the Oakland Raiders lost MVP candidate Derek Carr to a season-ending broken fibula in Week 16, their Super Bowl hopes seemingly went up in smoke.
Even then, the most optimistic fans held out hope that backup Matt McGloin could lead an improbable run through the postseason. But that was before McGloin left a spotty Week 17 performance with a shoulder injury. More
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders are going with rookie Connor Cook at quarterback in their wild-card game…
The Denver Broncos (9-7) jumped out to an early lead and clamped down on the Oakland Raiders (12-4) backup quarterbacks in a 24-6 win to end the season. Here is what you need to know: More
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The broken leg suffered by Oakland quarterback Derek Carr forced the Raiders to shake up their offense and thrust backup Matt McGloin into the spotlight as the starter. More
OAKLAND — Michael Crabtree stood on the sideline, looked up at the scoreboard above the north end zone and took a deep breath. More
The Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s best team so far this season in large part because they were both wise and fortunate in this year’s NFL draft, using the fourth overall selection on tailback Ezekiel Elliott and landing star quarterback-to-be Dak Prescott in the fourth round.
But in looking at how the Cowboys have become what they are now, it is perhaps even more illustrative to recall what they did in the opening round of the 2014 NFL draft, when owner Jerry Jones had to fight his impulse to make the big-splash move of taking Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 16th overall pick and the team instead went with an offensive lineman from Notre Dame, Zack Martin.
That is among the series of maneuvers made by the Cowboys to bolster their offensive line that is paying huge dividends now, with them on an 11-game winning streak that has improved their NFL-best record to 11-1 after Thursday night’s triumph at Minnesota.
It is a lesson that is clear when studying some of the league’s best and most surprising teams this season: Devoting resources to the offensive line can pay off handsomely. It has worked to make the Cowboys and Oakland Raiders two of the NFL’s elite teams in 2016, and to make the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins relevant once more as playoff contenders.
“I think every team knows that philosophically you build from the inside out, from front to back,” said former NFL player, scout and front office executive Louis Riddick. “Every scout, GM, coach, team president knows that. But some people really commit resources to it and really believe in it, which Dallas has done, which Miami has done, which Tennessee has done.”
No one has done it better than the Cowboys. They used a first-round pick on left tackle Tyron Smith in 2011. They used a first-rounder on center Travis Frederick in 2013. They went with Martin over Manziel in 2014, with Jones’s son and Cowboys executive Stephen Jones intervening to help keep his father from taking Manziel, and made Martin a starter at guard.
Smith, Martin and Frederick have been selected to a combined seven Pro Bowls, a number that is certain to grow this season, and the Cowboys have an offensive line that could be remembered as one of the sport’s all-time greats. It paved the way for DeMarco Murray…