With much of the NFL at a standstill, it's still business as usual for the Raiders.
Owner Al Davis has made commitments of more than $80 million to five of his potential free agents as the Raiders try to get business done before the collective bargaining agreement expires Thursday night.
"That just shows Al's mentality," said cornerback Stanford Routt, one of the recipients of Davis' largesse. "He's always been an aggressive-minded individual. He wants what he wants. He doesn't want to waste any time or wait on the CBA or all the possible unknowns or uncertainties to work themselves out. If you want to keep something, you might as well take care of it when (it's) in front of you rather than take a chance."
Thirteen teams, including the Raiders, handed out franchise tags in February. Denver kept star cornerback Champ Bailey off the open market with a four-year deal worth more than $40 million and Tampa Bay gave a one-year deal to cornerback Ronde Barber.
But no one has been as aggressive as Davis, who gave Routt a three-year, $31.5 million deal, handed defensive tackle Richard Seymour a two-year, $30 million contract with $22.5 million in guarantees, placed a $10.1 million franchise tag on linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, signed defensive tackle John Henderson to a two-year, $8 million deal and signed special teams standout and backup running back Rock Cartwright to an undisclosed contract.
The Raiders still have five other starters and key backup running back Michael Bush who could be eligible for free agency depending on the rules of a new CBA.
"I think it's going to be an advantage," Routt said about locking up coveted players. "It won't be as much of a scramble when free agency does open up."
After seven straight years with at least 11 losses, the Raiders improved to 8-8 last season. That did little to please Davis, who hired Hue Jackson to replace Tom Cable as coach.
The moves have drawn attention around the league with agents predictably praising the Raiders for handing out big-money deals while many other teams wait to see what sort of rules will be in place when a labor deal is done.
The decision to give big money to Routt was the most surprising to those outside the organization. Much of the focus in the secondary was on whether the Raiders would try to retain All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, whose $16.8 million option for 2012 voided when he didn't reach certain benchmarks.
Davis questioned last month whether that money for Asomugha would be better spent on two or three players. Routt turned out to be one of them and now may be the top cornerback if Asomugha leaves as expected.
