Per Jason Cole - Louis Murphy traded to Panthers~merged~

[red dragon]

What we got doesn't even matter, we got rid of a useless body that was eating up over a million in cap. I would have been happy if we released him and got nothing, then used that to fill a hole. The fact that we got something for him, even a 7th rounder, is just icing on an already delicious cake. Now we need to sign a reliable RB backup, some LB depth, some CB depth, and a vet TE who can start and get our young guys ready for next season. We should have enough cap now to fill at least some of those holes.


Im not trying to hate on Murph, he was a good receiver and I hope he does really well, but a 4th or 5th WR is simply not worth what he was making, and its unknown if he would even have been that high on the chart with the stable of WR talent we have now. He can get the spot he deserves in Carolina.

[MsAutumnWind]

Just throwing in an opinion without beating a dead horse; if he was unhappy in Oakland, I'm glad we got something for him. It definitely wasn't what I expected (I had thought 6th rounder minimum). A lot of people that I saw reaction from said they would have rather kept Murph, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather let him head east than potentially not give the Raiders 100% effort this season or become a problem in the locker room.

I have a blog post of the reaction to this trade from some Raider fans/players on Twitter & also a poll; please vote!

The Silver Lining » Fans React To Murphy Trade On Twitter (Poll)

[kinz]

Mitchell is making 965K this year. Maybe he can prove himself. If he does not step up we lose 400K.

As you say, Mitchell gets 400K from signing bonus. So we aren't going to save money by cutting him. Still, there will be players that are cut from other teams that are better contributors than he this year, and will come cheap. Its looking like the chances of Mitchell being here after his contract is done are small. He should shut his mouth or he will find out how far "potential" gets you in the world. I could easily envisage a situation where he is not playing for an NFL team in 2013.

[smucky]

Ford wears a "book bra?". Aren't those for smart chicks? And why is he going to carry Murphy in one of those?

[ismail86]

Raiders WR Louis Murphy arrested with unprescribed ****** - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports

[kejo7]

My thoughts exactly!

[1216]

I louis started off well for us his first year but ever since the ****** arrest thing he has not been the same. I wish him the best of luck in Carolina because him and Newton are going to be fun to watch. Plus they know each other when Newton was at Florida

[TerryDizzle]

As you say, Mitchell gets 400K from signing bonus. So we aren't going to save money by cutting him. Still, there will be players that are cut from other teams that are better contributors than he this year, and will come cheap. Its looking like the chances of Mitchell being here after his contract is done are small. He should shut his mouth or he will find out how far "potential" gets you in the world. I could easily envisage a situation where he is not playing for an NFL team in 2013.

dunno...

im looking to see what he can do under our new D coaches and HC...

dude can play..

Raiders Mike Mitchell hit vs Chargers - YouTube

[MadBomber24]

dunno...

im looking to see what he can do under our new D coaches and HC...

dude can play..

Raiders Mike Mitchell hit vs Chargers - YouTube

one play means he can play? Come on now. Overall his play has been poor.

[B. anthracis]

Soooo, we got a 7th round pick and a bag of popcorn in the form of an underachieving safety. Whatever. I'll go out on a huge limb and predict that this trade will have zero on the field impact on us in 2012 or infinity thereafter.

[prolific]

dunno...

im looking to see what he can do under our new D coaches and HC...

dude can play..

Raiders Mike Mitchell hit vs Chargers - YouTube

One play?

Mitchell is a hitter, no one is denying that. The problem is he's yet to show much else in any other field. New year, under a new coach(es) - head coach having a background coaching the secondary should help as well. This is a make-or-break year for Mitchell in my eyes.

[LINQ]

This is all Jacoby Ford said.

Hate to see my bro @murph918 leave. Love you bro and good luck in your new beginning. U always a raider in my book bra.

What was wrong with that?

Nothing at all. I think it was a very mature and sincere tweet.

[kinz]

Soooo, we got a 7th round pick and a bag of popcorn in the form of an underachieving safety. Whatever. I'll go out on a huge limb and predict that this trade will have zero on the field impact on us in 2012 or infinity thereafter.

Agree in a way, don't in another. Murphy was okay. He was a former track star, fast, made some big plays, never a really sound WR in my opinion as he lacked really good hands or routes. Tried hard so I liked him.

Murphy is going. In the past we have cut ties with other track star WRs (but maybe not any as accomplished as Murphy). But the real difference is that before we would replace a failed track star WR with another track star WR. This time it seems the plan is to replace him with a late round or undrafted WR who is not fast but can run routes, catch, and go after the ball, things better suited to our offense.

I agree with you that in a way this is a non-event. Its unlikely any of the players involved here will even be remembered 5 years from now - Murphy, Criner or Streater, the 7th round pick. But it is another sign of the new way of things. The drip drip drip of change.

[Jiu Jitsu Jon]

Soooo, we got a 7th round pick and a bag of popcorn in the form of an underachieving safety. Whatever. I'll go out on a huge limb and predict that this trade will have zero on the field impact on us in 2012 or infinity thereafter.

C'mon Reggie, you should have at least made them throw in an Applebee's gift certificate. In all seriousness though, didn't someone say we now have 6 mil in cap space or something? Reggie must have some person/people that he's planning to add to the roster. I have a strong hunch Benson will be one of them, plus maybe also a defensive player. Maybe a FA linebacker?

[imthedan]

One play?

Mitchell is a hitter, no one is denying that. The problem is he's yet to show much else in any other field. New year, under a new coach(es) - head coach having a background coaching the secondary should help as well. This is a make-or-break year for Mitchell in my eyes.

This has been talked about multiple times on here, so I won't get into specific details (look up the thread if you care).

Basically, Mitchell is used out of position. He is a strong safety. He's not a LB, nor a FS. Branch emerged as our starting strong safety and that left Mitchell on the outside looking in. He got his most run, and best minutes, when used as a LB in the Wolverine package. I firmly believe if Mitchell was used as a strong safety on this team, or any other team, he would do well. I won't say he's a pro bowler or anything like that yet, but I will say he would be quite productive if stuck in his natural position.

In all honesty, I wouldn't have had a problem if we let Branch go (whom I feel is quite over rated on this board) and let Mitchell take the starting position. With Coach Allen now, I think Mitchell could do well there. We let Branch go, save over ~6 million and then if Mitchell works out, we pay him a fraction of that next season and if he doesn't, we find one in the draft.