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It took a couple of months, but the Oakland Raiders have finally signed fourth overall pick Clelin Ferrell. The terms are believed to be around $31.2 Million over four years. The guaranteed money has yet to be revealed, but according to Forbes, it should be in the neighborhood of $21.6 million.
Ferrell is the first of the Raiders’ top four draft picks to sign his contract. That leaves running back Josh Jacobs, safety Johnathan Abram and cornerback Trayvon Mullen still waiting. There hasn’t been any report of anything specific holding up those contract talks, so Ferrell may be the first domino to fall and we’ll see those other guys sign soon. According to the previously mentioned Forbes article, Jacobs should be receiving a contract in the range of $12 million with $6.8 million guaranteed and Abram should be getting $11.5 million with $6.4 million guaranteed. Forbes did not predict Mullen’s contract because he was a second-round pick.
Getting Ferrell locked up before training camp is good because the Raiders are going to need him. The Raider pass rush was, to put it kindly, lackluster in 2018. Even if Ferrell can put up five sacks in 2019, he’ll have more than what 2018 sack leader Maurice Hurst put up. There were concerns early in OTAs that Ferrell wasn’t mean enough, but lately, he’s been getting praised by his coaches and teammates.
“He’s a rookie, but I swear he’s been here like five years,” said new Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict about his rookie teammate.
On top of that, Ferrell also seems ecstatic to be a member of the silver and black.
A positive locker room could go a long way for the Raiders after a rough season. With a brutal schedule on the horizon in 2019, having some youthful excitement on the team could do wonders. Also, Ferrell has been busy forming bonds with some of his fellow rookie teammates. They’ve been seen at the Googleplex and Six Flags recently.
An exciting offseason for the Raiders is hoping to turn into an exciting regular season. Expect to learn a lot more about the rookie defensive end when the Hard Knocks crew rolls into Napa for training camp.
The next player the Raiders hope to lock up is running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs is going to be an integral part of the offense and should be a big play threat for an offensive attack that didn’t make a lot of them a season ago. He’ll need to sign that contract soon if he’s going to be able to afford his obsession with shoes.
The last of the first round picks, Johnthan Abram, is still due for his payday. There shouldn’t be much drama there as he won’t cost too much money. Abram is expected to start opposite Karl Joseph during the season after impressing coaches in the offseason program so far. Abram and Joseph give the Raiders two safeties that can really hit hard.
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