The NFL offseason is almost here and that means the 2014 free agent class will be on its way to signing new deals in a few months and one of the top players to watch going forward is Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden, as he is expected to be one of the top players on the market and teams like the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns or Dallas Cowboys could be options for him to sign with.
McFadden has been an explosive player in stretches for the Oakland Raiders, but he has had injury issues nearly every year for the team and that is one of the main reasons why the two sides are likely heading for a split. The emergence of both Rashad Jennings and Marcel Reece this season should make the decisions easier for Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie and while they would love to keep McFadden, the team has done a good job of getting rid of excess money and contracts the past two seasons and signing McFadden to another deal would likely go against the plan that the team has put in place.
McFadden's best chance at staying with the Raiders was to get through this season without getting hurt or injured, but once again that did not happen and for the sixth straight season, aka his whole career, McFadden will fail to play in a full schedule or more than 13 games. McFadden has some explosive speed and great pass catching skills from the backfield, but he has been unable to remain healthy in his career and that will be the biggest sticking point when it comes to him remaining with the Raiders or not.
McFadden had his best season in 2010 and that year saw him rush for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and he also had 500 yards on nearly 50 catches and scored a career high seven touchdowns on the ground, which is as many as he has had over the past two seasons. The last two years he has missed a number of games and he has played on only nine this season and has rushed for under 400 yards, although he has five scores on the ground. McFadden could be a great player if he can stay healthy and he has played in just 66 games over his six year career.
McFadden started off the 2011 season playing very well, but since then he has played in just 19 of 39 games and has missed way too many for the Raiders, making Reece and Jennings valuable players and now the team likely will stick with them, as Jennings has nearly 700 yards rushing this season. McFadden was previously a top five picks and he signed a six-year, $60 million deal coming out of college with the Raiders and now there is a good chance he will be somewhere else, including with the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns or Dallas Cowboys, as they all had issues running the ball this season and rank in the bottom half of the league.
