Raiders Michael Crabtree Inks 4-Year, $35 Million Extension To Stay In Oakland
By Abraham Gutierrez
It's quite widely accepted that the Oakland Raiders future certainly looks bright. On Wednesday evening, Raider Nation received some great news, as it became public that the Raiders had reached a deal for wide receiver Michael Crabtree to remain a Raider for at least four more years.
“This is where I belong,” he said. “Gotta do what we gotta do. I’m a Raider, man. I’m a Raider.”
According to reports, the former 10th overall draft pick has inked a four-year deal worth $35 million, out of which $19 million will be guaranteed. Crabtree, a former member of the San Francisco 49ers, enters Week 14 of the 2015 NFL season as the second best receiver on the roster and one of the most productive wide outs in the league.
In his seventh season out of Texas Tech, the 28-year-old from Dallas, Texas is second on the team in receiving yards, but first in catches and touchdowns. Trailing only rookie sensation, Amari Cooper (920 yards on 62 catches and 4 TDs), Crabtree has accumulated 760 yards on 66 catches and seven touchdowns in his first year in a Silver and Black uniform.
Those are terrific numbers, not only for Raiders fans, but also for a player bitten by the injury bug in 2013 and following an underachieving 2014 NFL season. This contract extension also ensures the organization Crabtree will not test the free agent market, which has to be terrific news for quarterback Derek Carr.
Since his arrival to the East Bay, Crabtree and Carr have developed a special chemistry that’s sure to grow in what appears to be a bright future for this offense. In his second season out of Fresno State, Carr is already considered one of the most talented young signal-callers in football, and the best part is that he’s only getting started.
“Well deserved, @KingCrab15 has a lot of great football ahead of him,” Carr tweeted moments after the news broke.
After joining the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent, Crabtree certainly has not disappointed. Not only has he been durable, playing in all 12 games (11 starts) in his first year as a Raider, but has also registered three 100-yard games and averages 11.5 yards per catch thus far in 2015. In his NFL career, Crabtree has tallied 5087 yards on 413 catches and 33 touchdowns for an average of 12.3 yards per reception. He’s also proven to be reliable when the lights shine brightest, giving the 49ers a boost in the postseason. In eight playoff games played, Crabtree has recorded 40 grabs for 516 and four touchdowns.
With a 5-7 record on the season, the Raiders are preparing to take on the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos in Week 14. This game will take place at Authority Field at Mile High Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT and it can be seen live on CBS Sports.
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, Examiner.com and other online publications.
