Oakland Raiders: Evan Mathis Not A Good Fit

The Philadelphia Eagles announced this past week that they have released guard Evan Mathis, per Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. While the move was somewhat expected, as Mathis’ ongoing contract dispute has created a rift with Eagles management, they did just release a Pro Bowl guard that will command a lot of attention on the open market. Will the Oakland Raiders be one of the teams interested in Mathis? If they are smart, the answer should be no.

Barring some type of injury, the Raiders are in the process on trying to gel a fairly young offensive line that will have a good mix of veteran and rookie experience levels. With a solid center in free agent grab Rodney Hudson, second year pro Gabe Jackson at left guard, and left tackle Donald Penn, Oakland seems pretty set on the left side of the line. Khalif Barnes and rookie Jon Feliciano seem ready to battle for the right guard position, while Austin Howard is penciled in as the right tackle.

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While on the surface signing Mathis would seem to only strengthen the right side of the line for the Raiders, it would actually be a bad call for two big reasons.

First off, a huge red flag should go off in the collective Oakland Raiders management mind when a team releases a pro bowl player due to contract issues. It was widely known that Mathis was unhappy with the deal he signed in 2012, as felt he out played it the last two seasons. What is to prevent Mathis from doing the same thing in 2016 in Oakland if the Raiders were to sign him to a lucrative contract? Why bring in a possible problem child if it could create ripples in the teams collective morale?

Secondly, the Raiders have made it a mission to rebuild their team from this inside out, for the most part. They have seemingly put together two decent drafts in terms of depth, and while every team needs both youth and experience to succeed, history has shown that introducing a guy that has shown to be a management headache can hurt the team on the field. Everyone remembers Terrell Owens well, and while Mathis hasn’t come close to that level, teams usually don’t want to mess with that possibility.

The question will be whether the Raiders or any other team looking to put together a quality line can ignore Mathis’ performance on the field. While he didn’t play as many snaps as most starting guards in the NFL last year, Mathis was the 2nd highest overall rated guard by Pro Football Focus in 2014, albeit at the left guard position. His best two games? They where against the 2014 powerhouse and division rival Dallas Cowboys, where he saw 77 and 56 snaps respectively.

In the end, GM Reggie McKenzie and Head Coach Jack Del Rio might be tempted to bring Mathis in for a visit, especially if one of their starters on the line at guard goes down or struggles in camp. After all, they are one of the few teams left that would have the cap space to sign him.

But in the end, The Raiders need to trust the process and stick with the guys they have already signed to lead them in 2015. Mathis would not be a good fit for a fairly young and impressionable team, and could hurt them more than help them if signed.

Next: Khalil Mack poised for monster 2015?

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