Oakland Raiders Must Sign More Free Agents by Mar. 4 To Ensure Success in 2011

March 2, 2011   ·   James Arcellana   ·   Jump to comments

The Mar. 4 deadline for the NFL and the NFLPA to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement is quickly approaching and without any sign of the sides being close to reaching a new agreement. While most are focusing on what this might mean long term (a possible lockout), the Raiders have been smart enough to focus on what it means now.
When Mar. 4 comes and no new CBA has been reached, all offseason activities except for the NFL draft will be put on hold. That means teams will no longer be able to re-sign their free agent players, nor will they be able to sign free agents from other teams. While this may not sound like a big deal, it has major implications for a team like the Raiders who have a large number of free agents and are attempting to build off of a strong season in 2010.
We cannot assume that any of the players who are not signed before the Mar. 4 deadline will be on our team next year. We have no idea when free agency will occur or what kind of competition for th...

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