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One could almost certainly write a very readable book about the bizarre decisions made by the Raiders personnel department over the years. When someone does step up to write that book, they should reserve a chapter for the handling of cornerback Stanford Routt's restricted free agent status in the 2010 offseason. Adam Caplan of Scout.com is reporting that the Raiders will give Routt the highest tender offer which means that any other team that wants to sign him will have to fork over a first and third round pick. The chances of another team doing so for a player that started five games over the last two years of his five-year NFL career is about as slim as the Raiders passing on the fastest player available when their first round pick comes along.
Okay, so now you're probably asking what's the big deal about making it impossible for another team to swoop in and sign a restricted free agent you're keen on keeping? The big deal is that giving Routt that level tender means that he'll be paid $3.268 million for the 2010 season, a staggering amount of money for a player who isn't even in your starting lineup.
Routt can choose not to sign that tender and the Raiders can choose to rescind the offer and make him a true free agent, but Routt would be awfully silly to walk away from that kind of money for any reason.
We realize Routt ran well at the combine when he was entering the league and that he's the kind of tall defensive back that Al Davis likes, but this kind of story really makes you wonder if the Raiders understand how the NFL works. This is the same team that's been sending out smoke signals about trading Nnamdi Asomugha, a cornerback that actually starts for them and is really good, because, in part, they signed him to a ridiculous contract that guarantees him the same salary as the average of the top-five quarterback salaries.
The Raiders may hate the league office and enjoy thumbing their nose at protocol, but that's only amusing when you win games. The Raiders don't, which makes their antics more sad than anything else.
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