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Should Oakland Raiders sign Michael Crabtree?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The best wide receiver left out of a thin crop, Michael Crabtree has known interest from the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders but recently rejected a one-year deal from the ‘Fins that wasn’t even worth $3 million. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he’s taking his visit with the Raiders today, and it will be interesting to see if they offer him a contract, especially one that would pay him more than what the Dolphins offer.

If the Raiders actually want Crabtree, then conventional wisdom states that they would definitely have to give up more money for him. Not only are they worse than the Dolphins, but they would give him a bigger role in the offense, have more money, and, most importantly, the Dolphins offer wasn’t up to par with what Crabtree wants.

He’s made it clear that he’s willing to wait until a juicy enough offer comes his way (I highly doubt that happens, but we’ll see), so why would he take a similar deal from the Raiders if he already rejected the Dolphins offer?

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Working with Ryan Tannehill, Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, and Jordan Cameron would seemingly be Crabtree’s best bet, because there would be less pressure on him to succeed while surrounded by three playmakers who have proven to be successful pass-catchers in this league.

The Raiders only have James Jones, Rod Streater, and Mychal Rivera as proven options and none of those three players have the kind of playmaking ability that Stills and Cameron bring to the table, nor are they nearly as talented as Landry.

So if the Raiders decide that they want to sign Crabtree and, perhaps, hand him more than $3 million for the 2015 season, then they would be adding a possession-type receiver who mainly wins in the intermediate part of the field. There’s nothing truly wrong with that, except for the fact that they already have Jones.

Crabtree is more talented than Jones, but he’s also more of an unknown commodity due to his poor 2014 season, purported attitude concerns, and the fact that a team needing a WR exactly like him decided he’s worth like $3 million.

Crabtree seems to think he’s a No. 1 receiver, but nobody else shares this belief. He was once viewed as a top receiver after his big 2012 season thanks to an 85-1,105-9 line, so maybe he feels that being the focal point of an offense is his best bet. After all, most of his gripes with the San Francisco 49ers likely resulted from his decreased role last season, leading to just 10.3 yards per reception on 68 catches in a down year for the entire offense.

While I think it would be best for Crabtree to rehab his value with the Dolphins where there’s less pressure on him to bounce back in the hopes of earning real pay in 2016, his best bet at nabbing targets would be with the Raiders.

At 27 with a first-round pedigree and a couple of 13.0 YPR seasons on his resume, Crabtree isn’t some old, plodding wideout, though that’s the fear that comes with signing him. He offers a little more than most pure possession receivers, and he can fit in as a “Z”. Money isn’t an issue for the Raiders, but just because they have money to spend on him doesn’t mean that they should top the Dolphins offer by a significant amount; if they want him, they need to play the game.

After missing out Randall Cobb and Jeremy Maclin, the Oakland Raiders obviously need a No. 1 receiver with playmaking ability, otherwise they are simply setting Derek Carr up for failure in his second season. Heck, no QB would be in a position to succeed with Jones, Streater, and Andre Holmes as the top three WRs on the depth chart. There’s no doubt that the Raiders will attack the WR position hard in the draft, and it continues to seem like they are a lock to pick either Amari Cooper or Kevin White, depending on what they value more at the position.

If the Raiders were to sign Michael Crabtree, then they wouldn’t need to invest as much in the position outside of drafting a top prospect with the fourth overall pick. But if they decide that they want more youth, upside, and playmaking than what Crabtree can offer, then they’ll have to keep attacking the position in the draft.

The problem is that since the Raiders need both experience and upside at the position, it might be best for them to go after a top WR prospect, Crabtree, and perhaps another flier guy in the draft. If you look at their depth chart, they, again, have just three known contributors (Jones, Streater, and Rivera) and then a host of “potential” players like Holmes and Brice Butler.

Basically, Crabtree has something to offer to the Raiders, so it all comes down to the price. They’ll have to pay more than the Dolphins, but I would only barely spend more than Miami. The Raiders have a huge bargaining chip on their hands beyond money, because they are Crabtree’s best chance at starting in two-wide sets. Their next No. 1 receiver will be a rookie, but, if Crabtree is signed, he would be right in the thick of a competition with the likes of Jones, Streater, and perhaps another rookie for the No. 2 spot.

Nov 23, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) carries the ball during warm ups before the game against the Washington Redskins at Levi

I’m not sure how aggressively the Raiders want to fill their need at WR and how much they want to have a split between youth/upside vs. experience for Carr, but, well, Crabtree does offer some upside in his own right.

The more I think about it, the more Crabtree makes sense for the Raiders if his price is around $3 million on a one-year deal. Other factors such as guaranteed money and incentives will be interesting to look at, and the Raiders would have to be careful with giving Crabtree guaranteed cash after what he did last season with the other Bay Area team.

Look, the Raiders can’t afford to be choosers at the wide receiver position this offseason, and it would be best for them to add a final veteran addition in Crabtree, who offers more speed and athletic ability than Jones and can also run clean routes. It’s worth it for them to bring him on a prove-it deal, and I don’t anticipate an overpay here, barring a bizarre decision from Reggie McKenzie.

They desperately need a guy like White or Cooper, but they could also use someone like Crabtree to put less of a strain on a rookie (or rookies, but it’s less likely for the Raiders to double-dip at WR by using a first-round pick and another high pick on the position).

Next: Raiders sticking with youth at CB

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