Michael Bush of the Oakland Raiders
Last season was one of turmoil for the Oakland Raiders. Long time owner Al Davis passed away and the keys to the kingdom were handed over to his son, Mark Davis. Immediately the blockbuster trade for Carson Palmer was pulled off for 2 first round draft picks in what left many fans scratching their heads. Under Al’s reign the Raiders were always unconventional and it appeared that Mark would retrace his fathers footsteps. With planning for the 2012 season underway Mark did something that most people would do in his situation, hire a GM. Reggie McKenzie, a former Raider player, and director of player personnel for the Green Bay Packers looked like a solid hire at the time but now things are looking a little fuzzy.
While Matt Forte tries to pry a contract from the lockjaw of Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery, Michael Bush has solidified his spot on the first team. The former Raider running back accounted for 1,395 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns last year during another injury plagued season for Run DMC (Darren McFadden). He’s been a solid running back and a very viable option for when your stud starter takes a trip to the PUP list. At 6′ 1″ and 245 lbs this bruising back averages 4.2 yards per carry, but don’t let his size fool you. In the combine he ran a blazing 4.55 40 yard dash. There is little doubt in our minds that he was a huge part of the Raiders offense and their lackadaisical approach to resigning him this year is mind numbing. The contract he signed with the Bears was 4 years 14 million, which is ridiculously reasonable for a man as productive and versatile as Michael Bush. At the end of the day the reality is this, when Darren McFadden goes down and the Raiders have a plethora of unproven semi-productive RBs we hope Reggie McKenzie made the right call.
Completely 1 sided straw man blog. The reason the raiders cut Bush was money and only money. McKenzie even lamented the situation to the media. Mike Bush is an amazing backup, but you don't pay a backup 14 million dollars when you have DMC and Marcel Reese. There are too many others that need resigned after assessing a 1.6 million dollar cap penalty.
I understand that money was the reason that they didnt retain Bush. Marcel Reese is unproven so he is nothing and at the end of the day Michael Bush would have become a starter at some point given Run DMC's history with injuries. So you do pay the backup/starter 14mil for 4 years. 3.5 per year is backup money