Alonzo “Skip” Thomas, a colorful cornerback who played on the Oakland Raiders’ first Super Bowl championship team in 1977, died of a heart attack on Sunday.

The NFL has confirmed that Raiders running back Michael Bush is a restricted free agent, which therefore gives the Raiders a certain amount of protection against losing him to another team. Read the rest of this entry »

Beat writer Jerry McDonald spoke with Raiders tight end Zach Miller by phone earlier this afternoon.  Miller sounded relieved to shed his player rep hat in favor of a football helmet. The question is, which helmet will Miller be wearing this season? Read the rest of this entry »

What are the Raiders’ priorities as the free-agent market begins? Join us Tuesday at noon PDT as Steve Corkran answers this question and more during our Oakland Raiders live chat.

Just spoke by phone with Raiders senior executive John Herrera. He confirmed that he expects to see players “trickling in” Tuesday, as soon as 7 a.m. and that training camp will commence in Napa on Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

Teams are allowed to negotiate with free agents starting Tuesday. Deals can’t be finalized until 3 p.m. on Friday. Read the rest of this entry »

Running back Rock Cartwright: ”Shouting out to the Raider Nation. Silver and black is back!”
 
 
Quarterback Jason Campbell: ”Day Job is back! Thanks for all the player reps that represented the players.”

“Congrats to the fans, your patience is well appreciated. Go raider nation.”
 

Tight end Zach Miller: “Time for some football!”
 

Wide receiver Louis Murphy: ”Back to work! Thanks to owners for giving us a fair deal. Round of applause for DeMaurice Smith! Thanks, my man.”
 
“I know our fans are ready for us to get back to work. Thanks for hanging in there thru this long, tedious process.”
  

Tight end Brandon Myers: ”Can”t wait to get back to Napa. Been too long.”

And,  just like that, the NFL owners and players on Monday reached accord on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that ensures 10 years of strike-free, lockout-free football. Read the rest of this entry »

Sad news from the Raiders family today, where it was learned that former Oakland Raiders cornerback Alonzo “Skip” Thomas died of a heart attack on Sunday. He was 61.
Nicknamed “Dr. Death.” Thomas spent all six years of his NFL career in Silver & Black after being selected by Oakland in the seventh round of the 1972 NFL draft. Thomas, who had 17 interceptions during his career, was a starting cornerback alongside Willie Brown for most of his career. His career was highlighted by a strong performance in the Raiders’ Super Bowl victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl XI in 1977.
Thomas’ death comes almost a year to the day that former defensive backfield teammate Jack Tatum passed away. Tatum died July 27, 2010.
Check back for reaction from the Raiders plus more from Jerry McDonald and Steve Corkran.

A post on Profootballtalk.com refers to an e-mail from Saints quarterback Drew Brees which says free agency will be an instant free-for-all starting on Tuesday, rather than the 72-hour window previously reported for teams to sign their own players.
Read the rest of this entry »