The Oakland Raiders have issues at nearly every position on their roster and they got a bit thinner on Wednesday at wide receiver, as they released former first round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey and now the team could move on to other free agents, including Greg Jennings and Austin Collie.
According to ESPN.com, Jennings is the top free agent receiver left after Wes Welker and Danny Amendola signed and while he is visiting with the Vikings on Thursday, he could get interest from other teams. Austin Collie is also available after being not being retained by the Indianapolis Colts and he could be a more affordable option for the Raiders.
Jennings has received strong interest from the Packers and the Vikings and after being injured last season, he is ready to play and be healthy in 2013. The Vikings are in the market for a wide receiver after trading Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks and they also cut Michael Jenkins, leaving them with three untested receivers in Jerome Simpson, Jarius Wright and Stephen Burton.
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The team would like to sign Jennings, but if they can't work out a deal, there is a chance he could do go to the Raiders or back to his old team in the Packers, where he caught nearly 70 balls in the past four seasons apart from 2012 and also had over 1,000 receiving yards in each of those years apart from 2011 when he had 949.
This past season Jennings missed time with a groin injury and played in just eight games while making a career low 36 catches for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Jennings was one of the top targets for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but the team has a number of other players, including Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb at receiver.
"I want to experience it. I'm not one to jump the gun. I try to look at myself and believe I'm a pretty smart guy," Jennings told ESPN. "I want to weigh out all my options. I want to make sure I end up in a place where my family is going to be happy as well as myself and I can thrive."
While the Raiders ranked eighth in passing yards per game last season that was mostly due to the fact that they were playing from behind. After cutting Heyward-Bey the team needs some weapons for either Carson Palmer and Terrelle Pryor and Jennings or Collie could provide that.
Collie has spent the past four years with the Colts, but this past season he missed every game but one after dealing with a concussion and other injuries. Collie is trying to prove to teams that he is not a concussion case and points to his two seasons of playing all 16 games, including in 2011 when he had 54 catches for 514 yards and one touchdown.
The Raiders went just 4-12 last season and are in a tight financial situation, which is why they may target Jennings and Collie. The team lost eight of their final nine games of the season, winning 15-0 against the chiefs in between, and was inconsistent on both sides of the ball.
Although ti would likely be crippling financially, the team could do something crazy and sign Victor Cruz to an offer sheet from the Giants now that Welker and Amendola are gone. While it is extremely unlikely, the Raiders have done much crazier moves in the past.
