Off Topic » As badly as the 2018 season went for the Raiders

As badly as the 2018 season went for the Raiders there was no doubt that the turnover on this team was going to be substantial David Sharpe Jersey , and the massive influx of new players to the roster is a welcome..." there was no doubt that the turnover on this team was going to be substantial, and the massive influx of new players to the roster is a welcome sight. But even with the improvements to the team there is still a question of whether they’ve done enough at edge rusher.The need was addressed on one side with the addition of Oakland Raiders 1st round pick Clelin Ferrell. The other side could still use some help and the only possible upgrade still out there is free agent Ezekial “Ziggy” Ansah.The former Lions first round pick is easily the top free agent still available. He is finally making the rounds for team visits after waiting for his surgically repaired shoulder to heal before testing the FA waters. The 29-year-old has already taken visits with the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks and is expected to sign somewhere within the next week or two.Though he has not signed a contract yet, the rumor is that he will be making his decision soon after May 7th. Why the that date specifically? Because of the Compensatory Pick formula which would have any team signing Ansah before then having him impact their chances of getting any comp picks for the 2020 draft. May 7 is the deadline for that formula with signings after that not counting towards the comp pick system.Unfortunately for the Raiders chances of landing Ansah, they will have to move swiftly if they have any interest in him. Oakland might very well feel comfortable with moving forward with the players they have on their defensive line but passing on bringing in a pass rusher the quality of Ezekiel Ansah seems like a big oversight.Soon to be 30 years old and coming off an injury, Ansah is likely to sign a contract that is less than his value for having had 16.0 sacks in his last 21 games, and Oakland could certainly still use that kind of production. Currently the team is counting on a lot of improvement from second year man Arden Key and instant rookie production from Ferrell. A talented veteran pass rusher would preferable.If the Raiders do have any interest in trying to sign Ezekiel Ansah, it will likely have to happen this week though. They had been rumored as being one of the most likely teams to have interest in him so to not even get him in for a visit would be disappointing. This is a chance to add another significant piece to the puzzle of fixing their pass rush so to let it go by without even kicking the tires on him would be a mistake. A report on Thursday indicated wide receiver Antonio Brown is close to returning to practice with the Raiders and Brown’s activity level on Saturday supports that idea.Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said Brown “took all the reps today in our walkthrough” and that he anticipates the wideout will be practicing soon. Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr each complimented Brown’s retention of material despite not practicing this month.“He did everything with us just now and the man’s recall is unbelievable Karl Joseph Jersey ,” Carr said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “He came in and, no mental errors, and in this offense, that’s not easy to do. Especially, whenever you have a day off, even Shilique Calhoun Jersey , especially as a player, you come back and you’re like, you’ve got to stay on coach Gruden’s offense all the time. You can tell Antonio’s been studying because he came out and didn’t miss a beat . . . he was a part of everything we did today.”The Raiders have been waiting quite a while for Brown to be part of anything they were doing, so Saturday’s development on the heels of warming up with the team before Thursday’s game feels like some light at the end of the tunnel.