Newest Raiders excited to be together

HENDERSON, Nev. — To say it has been a busy time for the Raiders is an understatement.

When free agency opened Monday, the Silver and Black jumped in with both hands and both feet, coming to terms with no less than eight players, from center Tyler Linderbaum to kicker Matt Gay.

And of course, the biggest news was edge rusher Maxx Crosby staying with the Raiders following the Baltimore Ravens reneging on the trade that had Crosby going to the Ravens for two first-round draft picks.

As far as Crosby is concerned, he said publicly Wednesday on his social media account that he’s a Raider and ready to resume wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Unless general manager John Spytek gets an offer that knocks his socks off, expect No. 98 on the field at Allegiant Stadium.

As for the eight signees, Linderbaum’s is the most intriguing. Th former first-round pick of the Ravens signed an $81 million deal which includes a $60 million bonus. Linderbaum said Thursday at his introductory Raiders news conference at the Intermountain Health Performance Center that he understands that expectations for him are going to be high, given his primary job is to help Fernando Mendoza, the expected selection by Las Vegas with the No. 1 overall draft pick next month, stay upright and be able to run the offense.

“Yeah, I think going through the process, just trying to find a team that's suitable to my skill sets,” Linderbaum said. “Coach (Klint) Kubiak — I'm excited what he's going to build here, something that I think will fit my play, and obviously, just the whole organization in itself I think is headed in the right direction, and something that I want to be a part of and build this program into a championship level team."
As for finding a chemistry with Mendoza and his teammates, Linderbaum said: "Yeah, it's going to take work. Obviously, day one, it's going to take everybody being on the same page, communication, laying the foundation of what needs to be done, the direction that we want to head, and ultimately, it takes the guys in the locker room to decide how good we want to be."

The Raiders also got help on the defensive side of things, bringing in linebackers Nakobe Dean from Philadelphia and Quay Walker from Green Bay. They’ll look too fit in defensive coordinator Rob Leonard’s scheme.

“This is another opportunity for us to display our talents,” Walker said of he and Dean who were teammates at the University of Georgia. "It's going to fit perfectly. Had a talk with (Leonard) last night at dinner. I'm not going to go into everything, but I know he's going to use me the right way, lining me up in different positions and just moving me all around so other teams can't really recognize what I'm going to do.

“I just think he's really going to bring out my skill set, because I think he quite understands me, although he hasn't really seen me on the field yet, but I know he's watched him and did a lot of things like that, so I think I'm going to be used the right way. I think he's going to do it the right way.”

By bringing in defensive end Kwity Paye, another former first-round pick by Indianapolis, the Raiders give Crosby some help in what will be a revamped 3-4 defensive alignment.

"It's going to be crazy, man,” Paye said. “Just seeing him pursue and just his relentless pursuit throughout the down, just being to play with him and get after it. I played with Jonah (Laulu) in Indy for a little bit and just playing with him just playing with some ballers. It'll be great."
The Raiders were also looking to upgrade their receiving corps. By signing Jalen Nailor, who is coming off a career-best average of 15.3 yards per catch playing for Minnesota, the position got a little deeper.

“Oh, for sure. Just having that ability to play multiple positions in the offense, move around, motions and things like that,” said Nailor, who played his high school ball at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. “I feel like with (Klint) Kubiak’s offense, he does that very well with the guys trying to get them the ball and move them around. And I feel like that’s going to play right into my skill set.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise was moving on from longtime kicker John Carlson and bringing Gay, who kicked for Washington and San Francisco last season, on board. The 31-year-old has also played for Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis. His career field goal percentage of made kicks is 84.3 percent.

But the goal was to get better and while Spytek wasn’t available for comment Thursday, he’s letting his actions speak for him. And what he did says a lot about the direction the Raiders are trying to head towards.