The Oakland Raiders acquired a starting center on Monday when the Miami Dolphins sent 24-year old Samson Satele to the Silver & Black for a sixth round selection in April’s draft.
The trade also included a swap of fourth round selections, as the Raiders dropped from the 104th overall slot to 122nd.
Satele was expendable after the Dolphins signed ex-Raider Jake Grove to a five-year, $29 million contract, with $14.5 million in guarantees. Their second round draft choice in 2007, which started every game the past two years, was not what Tony Sparano wanted in the middle of the trenches, looking for a more physical presence in the interior to go along with the more power running game they are trying to adopt.
Grove, who played in Oakland the past five seasons, has had durability concerns and has only started 16 games only once in his career.
“We signed another center and feel like we had to get better in that area,” Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland said on Monday. “It’s pretty critical that we did.
“We saw there was some value out there with Samson. We felt like if we kept Samson we would have moved him to guard and let him compete.
He continued, “But we found out there was significant value for Samson.”
This trade may sway the Raiders away from drafting a center in next month’s draft. Oakland had a need at center, filled it with a player with starting experience in the league, and with both guard spots locked up, Satele quickly becomes the distant front-runner to nab the job in 2009.
Chris Morris and John Wade remain on the roster, but it will take a miracle for either to surprise Cable enough to earn the top spot. Morris is not physical nor is imposing on the field, but his style does lend itself to the zone blocking system Cable teaches.
Having stability with Cooper Carlisle, who just signed a five-year deal, and Robert Gallery at guard will go a long way in trying to bring back a steady presence in the trenches.
It will be interesting to see what they do at right tackle especially after making it clear that recently inked Khalif Barnes will be protecting JaMarcus Russell’s blind side. Mario Henderson is the leading candidate to win that job. And owner Al Davis has talked up his play at the end of 2008 in various occasions during the off-season.
So if Henderson shows consistency and takes well to right tackle, we may be seeing a line that will have Barnes (LT), Gallery (LG), Satele (C) and Carlisle (RG) barring any injuries in the summer.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
