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An unofficial partial listing of 2010 Raiders personnel developments:
His release reportedly comes in advance of Oakland being obligated to pay Warren an option bonus of close to $6 million. The nine-year veteran also was scheduled to earn $750,000 in base salary in the 2010 season.
Warren contributed 77 solo tackles and 10 sacks in 44 games with Oakland. He was acquired from the Denver Broncos before the start of the 2007 regular season — the first trade between the rivals since Willie Brown came to the Raiders in 1967.
Second-year players Desmond Bryant and Matt Shaughnessy reportedly are the only legitimate candidates on Oakland’s roster to fill the void created by Warren’s release.
Walker, 31, was a monumental bust the past two seasons with Oakland after signing a reported $55 million contract in 2008 that included an $11 million signing bonus. He caught 15 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown in two injury-hampered seasons with the Raiders, while being paid a reported $14 million.
Walker played eight games his first season in Oakland before being sidelined by a season-ending ankle injury.
He caught no passes in only three games during the 2009 season.
Ellis, 34, signed a two-year contract with Oakland in June of 2009 after being released by Dallas.
The 12-year veteran tied for the team lead with seven sacks last season but was hampered during the second half by chronic knee problems. He reportedly was due $2.5 million this season.
His best season came in 2007, when he replaced LaMont Jordan as the lead back and rushed for 1,009 yards. The Raiders reportedly rewarded Fargas with a three-year contract that included a $6 million guaranteed.
Fargas started 14 games in 2008 and rushed for a team-high 853 yards. Howevever, his average dropped from 4.5 yards to 3.9. He rushed for only 491 yards at a 3.8-yard average in 12 games during the 2008 season.
Overall, the former USC star had 3,369 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns during his first seven NFL seasons.
Oakland also reportedly extended one-year offers to cornerback Stanford Routt and center Chris Morris.
On March 4, the Raiders reportedly placed one-year tenders on backup quarterback Charlie Frye, fullback Luke Lawton and safety Hiram Eugene.
Oakland declined to place tenders on offensive tackle Khalif Barnes, fullback Gary Russell and linebacker Jon Alston. Lawton reportedly is in the midst of a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Raiders coach Tom Cable told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 28 that the competition for the quarterback spot next season is "open" among Gradkowski, Russell and whoever else is on the roster.
The Raiders reportedly tendered Gradkowski a second-round level, which guarantees him $1.759 million for 2010 if he signs.
Russell reportedly is scheduled to earn $9.45 million in base salary in 2010.
Morrison received an original-round tender, which means the Raiders are obligated to pay him 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or slightly more than $2.5 million for 2010. As a restricted free agent, the former San Diego State starter can be signed by another team for a third-round draft pick as compensation.
The Raiders reportedly tendered Routt at the first- and third-round level, which guarantees the former Rice star a $3.268 million salary in 2010, or more than five times what he made last season. Routt has been a nickel back throughout his five-season Raiders career.
Frye reportedly received an original-round tender. As a five-year veteran, Frye would earn $1.226 million with Oakland in 2010 if he's on the roster this season. If he receives an offer sheet from another team and the Raiders don’t match it, they would receive a third-round pick as compensation.
The franchise designation guarantees a player the average salary of the five highest-paid players at his position from the previous season. In Seymour's case, that works out to $12.398 million in 2010.
If the average salary for next season is greater than that on April 15, Seymour reportedly will get the new amount.
The whopping one-year salary reportedly would be negated if the Raiders and Seymour agree to a long-term deal.
The Raiders acquired Seymour, 30, from the New England Patriots on Sept. 6, 2009 in exchange for a 2011 first-round pick. He started all 16 games last season and recorded four sacks, but only two in the final 15 games.
The former University of Georgia star reportedly was paid about $3.7 million last season. He was a stalwart for the Patriots after being drafted sixth overall in 2001. He played on three Super Bowl champions with New England, recording 39 career sacks and being selected to the Pro Bowl for five straight seasons starting in 2002.
"I’m hired as the offensive coordinator, and I’ll be the primary play-caller,” Jackson told the Ravens team Web site. "That’s my role. It’s a chance to go out and assist the head coach and be the best offense we can be.”
Jackson’s biggest challenge with the Raiders will be to improve the play of quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the top overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft who has been a bust. During the 2009 season, Russell completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating — the lowest in the league since 1998.
Jackson joins his fourth NFL team. He coached previously with the Washington Redskins (2001-2003), Cincinnati Bengals (2004-2006) and Ravens (2007-2009).
"Willie shall be remembered as one of the, if not the, greatest Raider players of all time,” chief executive Amy Trask said in a statement Jan. 13, 2010. “We will honor Willie in the coming months.”
Brown, perhaps, is best known for intercepting a Fran Tarkenton pass and returning it a Super Bowl-record 75 yards for a touchdown in Oakland’s 32-14 Super Bowl XI victory over the Minnesota Vikings at the end of the 1976 season. His record would stand for 29 years until being broken by Kelly Herndon's 76-yard interception return in Super Bowl XL.
Brown, a former Grambling State University star, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and is regarded as one of the best cover corners in NFL history.
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