The Oakland Raiders have a solid offensive attack this coming season as the team drafted and signed a number of players in the offseason, but after Willis McGahee was released by the Denver Broncos, general manager Reggie McKenzie should consider signing him to bolster the offense.
According to ESPN.com, the Broncos released the running back on Thursday after saying they are planning to go younger at the position with rookie Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman, leaving the veteran without a team. The report says that McGahee listed a number of teams he might want to play for, including the Oakland Raiders as well as the Packers, Cowboys, Chargers and Dolphins as other options.
The Raiders would be a solid fit for McGahee despite him turning 32-years-old this season, as the team could use more depth and since Darren McFadden has been injured every year so far in his career, another back could help soften the load for him. McKenzie signed Rashad Jennings and drafted Latavius Murray in the sixth round, but that won't stop him from signing McGahee if he feels it is a good fit. He suffered a season-ending injury last season and said that he will be healthy for the start of the 2013 campaign despite getting cut.
Last year he had over 700 yards on 161 carries and he could move to another team in the AFC West with the Chargers and Raiders looking like solid options. Jennings is signed to a one year deal and while he is younger, McGahee has much more experience in his career after playing with the Ravens and the Bills as well as the Broncos. He was prolific with the Bills after suffering a devastating knee injury in college and he said that he would like to continue playing despite being released.
The running back was away from OTA workouts all offseason and that may have been one reason he was done in, as Hillman and Ball were able to prove themselves. McGahee is ranked fourth among active backs in years and he has scored 63 touchdowns in 130 games and he could help add some consistency to the Raiders offense.
The team is looking for big improvements on the unit after trading for Matt Flynn and drafting Murray, Nick Kasa and Brice Butler and McGahee will come in after he was supposed to make $2.5 million in 2013. The back said he missed OTAs for family issues and while he said he felt he would be fine by giving the rookies a chance to play, he clearly was wrong and while he was durable for most of his career following that knee injury, it slipped up on him last season and now he may be stuck without a team for a bit. During his time with the Broncos he rushed for 1,930 yards with eight touchdowns in 25 games.
