Oakland Raiders pull major troll job on Denver Broncos
The Oakland Raiders used some of their remaining free agency budget to pull a massive troll job on the Denver Broncos.
The Oakland Raiders turned an average, lovely Thursday afternoon into a massive troll job on the Denver Broncos.
Well played, Gruden.
The Raiders signed former Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall as well as former New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell to free agent contracts on Thursday, per the team and players.
What makes this a troll job on the Broncos? Let’s start with the obvious.
The Raiders signed Marshall, who is going to be a starting linebacker for them in 2019 as long as he’s healthy.
Marshall spent the past six years with the Broncos and when he was healthy, he was one of the best in the NFL at his position.
Specifically, from 2014-2016, Marshall was a key player on one of the best defenses in franchise history. In 2013, Marshall was signed to the Broncos’ practice squad after being cut a number of times by the team that drafted him, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He was frustrating Peyton Manning in practice and Manning vouched for him to the coaching staff, helping him get a spot on the 53-man roster before season’s end.
Marshall proved Manning has an eye for scouting and started next to Danny Trevathan on the Broncos’ Super Bowl winning team in 2015.
Now, he’s playing on a one-year deal in Oakland and if all goes well, he may have a chance to play professional football with the Raiders in Las Vegas in 2020, his hometown.
Oakland’s first signing of the day was former New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell, and this is a more vague troll job on the Broncos but a good one anyway.
Crowell had perhaps the best game of his football career against the Broncos in 2018, running for 219 yards on just 15 carries with a touchdown. His previous career high was 152 back in the final game of the 2016 season.
The Oakland Raiders, more than probably any team in the NFL this offseason, have utilized free agency to literally fill up their roster. They have made so many moves it’s hard to even remember half of them.
Next. Broncos 2019 player movement tracker. dark
We’ll do a full recap of the AFC West offseason before the 2019 NFL Draft, but the Raiders have changed their player personnel more than about any team I can recall in one offseason.