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Oakland Raiders: Make Or Break Year For Michael Crabtree

By Khaled Abdallah

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The Oakland Raiders announced on Monday that they had officially signed free agent wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The former former San Francisco 49er was in Oakland last week for a visit after meeting the previous week with the Miami Dolphins and left both cities without a deal.

According to Josh Alpert of Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins were willing to pay Crabtree $3 million for his services but he was reportedly looking for a deal closer to $4.5 million and they would not budge. Crabtree obviously felt that he deserved a bit more than Miami was willing to offer and went off in search of a better deal.

Despite the thin wide receiver free-agent class, Crabtree was unable to find what he was reportedly looking for in terms of compensation and settled for less money with the Oakland Raiders. Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area reports that Crabtree signed a one-year deal worth $3 million with an additional $2 million in incentives.

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After factoring in Florida’s lack on an income tax and California’s relatively high state income tax, the $3 million he will receive from the Raiders is considerably less than what he was offered from Miami. That lends credence to the idea that Michael Crabtree chose to sign with the Raiders for reasons other than financial concerns.

The former Texas Tech Red Raider has yet to reveal his reasoning for signing with Oakland but perhaps he is looking to exorcise the demons of the past. There is no need to drudge up the past between Crabtree and the Raiders but perhaps he sees this as a chance for redemption in a number of ways.

Oct 13, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) catches a pass for a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The San Francisco 49ers defeat the St. Louis Rams 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Crabtree and the 49ers did not have the most amicable of breakups as his final season in San Francisco was littered with controversy over his role in the offense. He felt marginalized and described himself sarcastically as a third down receiver after being marginalized in the 49ers passing attack. Many believed that he had lost his explosiveness after his Achilles injury and will never be able to match his career highs of 85 catches and 1,100 yards in 2012.

By signing with Oakland and working with the most talented QB he has lined up alongside in his career, Michael Crabtree has the opportunity to rebuild his image and reputation as a number one receiver. We all know about Alex Smith’s limitations and for all his athletic ability Colin Kaepernick has yet to prove that he can play the quarterback position at the highest level.

In Derek Carr, the Raiders and Crabtree have a young pure passer who showed flashes of brilliance last season but struggled at times because of a poor supporting cast. The Raiders finally have a receiver with a first round pedigree and this season will be a crossroads that will determine the rest of Crabtree’s career path.

If he flames out and his attitude concerns reemerge then few teams will be willing to take a chance on a player that is just 27 years old. However if he shows that he can still be an explosive receiver and becomes the number one receiver he was expected to be out of college then he can earn himself one more big money deal before he hits the twilight of his career. This season is essentially a tryout for Crabtree to prove that he is more than a lengthy holdout and a bad attitude.

The Raiders are taking a chance on Crabtree because of their lack of talent at the position and are placing his future in the hands of Carr and the Oakland staff. Things can go horribly wrong or this can be the career revival that he so desperately needs. Either way this will be a fascinating experiment to watch and Raiders fans will be hoping that Michael Crabtree can prove all of his haters and doubters wrong.

Next: Oakland Raiders: Evaluating The WR Corps

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