Raider News

The Raiders will place a non-exclusive franchise tag on Charles Woodson, so that he can't leave without his new team giving the Raiders some swag (Two first round picks, money, and/or a package of players). If no one ponies up, the Raiders can always negotiate a long term deal with Woodson to reduce his cap figure before the season starts.

In sadder news, the Chronicle reports that Rich Gannon's doctors have told him his playing days are over. I'd figured this because there had been so little talk of a comeback from Gannon's people. According to the Chronicle, the Raiders will give Gannon the time he needs to settle things and receive all the proper compensation from the league for his injury (if he fails a team physical in a couple of months he'll be eligible for an injury settlement from the NFL). His roster bonus will count heavily against the 2006 books, but that's life.

The team reports that discussions with Jerry Porter continue to go well. They'd obviously prefer that he stay off the free agent market, and are hopeful that he'll take the twenty million they're offering him before March 2.

UPDATE: ESPN reports the Raiders have reached a deal with Jerry Porter.