AFC West Preview: Oakland Raiders should be entertaining if nothing else

Well, Chiefs Kingdom, we are getting so close to meaningful football that I can almost taste it. Before we jump into it, let’s slow down and take a look at our AFC West rivals.

The goal here is to recap their offseason as we look ahead at what will hopefully be the first of many forthcoming Super Bowls brought home to Kansas City.

First up, the Oakland Raiders.

Notable Moves

Any look at the notable moves made by the Oakland Raiders this offseason must begin with the biggest move in the NFL: the team’s trade for wide receiver Antonio Brown. The trade sent a third and fifth round 2019 pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the explosive receiver.

Brown also received a reworked contract with a guaranteed $30 million. The hope was that adding another receiver after trading Amari Cooper would help franchise quarterback Derek Carr lead the team in a hot division. We’ll see.

The Raiders also added veteran linebacker Vontaze Burfict, a bruising linebacker with a history of playing right on the edge of dirty. His attitude seems like a good fit for the Raiders; let’s leave it at that.

Of importance to Chiefs fans, the Raiders also added former Chiefs’ offensive lineman Jordan Devey. We all remember the mullet. Lastly, the Raiders added guard Richie Incognito. who also has a checkered history (to put it mildly) filled with bullying, harassment, and mental health issues.

There have, of course, been more moves made by the Raiders this offseason, but those grabbed the most headlines as we look ahead to the season.