The Oakland Raiders have been one of the most active teams in the NFL this offseason after going just 4-12 last season and despite bringing on a number of players on defense in Charles Woodson, Nick Roach and D.J. Hayden, the team still needs to improve its pass rush as training camp nears.
General manager Reggie McKenzie has done a fine job of ridding the team of bad contracts and adding veterans like Woodson and Roach as well as Tracy Porter, Mike Jenkins, Kevin Burnett and rookie Sio Moore in the draft, but after losing Tommy Kelly And Richard Seymour, the pass rush needs work. The team had issues getting to the quarterback last season and it may be a problem again as those two players are gone, with Kelly going to New England.
McKenzie brought in unrestricted free agent Jason Hunter on a deal after losing Kelly and he signed him to a contract to help add to that pass rush. Hunter came over after playing with the Broncos the past three years and as a veteran he can add some more depth to the defense. He dealt with an injury, but before that he recorded 11 sacks and three forced fumbles during 88 games in his career and he started 23 games while with the Broncos, giving him some solid experience before coming to the Raiders.
Hunter should fit in nicely with the team after working previously with Dennis Allen while with the Broncos and he could be one of the top rushers for the team heading into training camp. Kelly signed a two year deal and he should be a prime addition to the Patriots as they try to recover from the Aaron Hernandez scandal. Kelly was one of the top players for the Raiders over the past few years and he was durable as well, starting every game for the team over the past five years. Kelly had a down year with just one sack last season after having seven in 2010 and 7½ in 2011 and now he will get the chance to show his skills again.
The Raiders aren't expecting the playoffs but they are hoping for improvement after adding names like Woodson as well as Matt Flynn at quarterback and a number of the players in the draft will have an impact too, especially Hayden and Menelik Watson as well as Moore. The team defense will be better with Burnett and Roach in the middle and McKenzie is hoping for more consistency in the running game from Darren McFadden as well.