When Marcel Reece was released Monday night, fans of the Oakland Raiders were enraged. And it’s easy to see why. When the Raiders were the worst team in the NFL, Reece was the lone bright spot. The former University of Washington Husky bled silver and black and gave his all for the Raiders. Every time he came out of the tunnel, he did so sporting a black shirt with the word Al on it in honor of Oakland’s late owner, Al Davis. But the Oakland Raiders releasing Marcel Reece was the right call.
What do you guys think. Did the @RAIDERS make a mistake by releasing Reece?
— LWOS Raiders (@LWOS_Raiders) September 27, 2016
Oakland Raiders Releasing Marcel Reece Was the Right Call
Why Was it the Right Move?
The why is simple. Marcel Reece was good, but he was simply making too much money. Reece had just finished serving a four game suspension after failing a drug test, and there’s no question his production had been sinking. He only had 305 total yards and three touchdowns last year, and two of those scores came in garbage time.
Reece is getting old, he’s making too much money, and he was coming off of a suspension. The Raiders have another fullback on the roster already, and keeping two makes no sense. If the Raiders can upgrade while getting younger and saving money, they absolutely should. And with this move Oakland did save money.
The Raiders saved millions of dollars by cutting Reece, and that money is set to come in handy in a couple of years. When Derek Carr and Khalil Mack‘s contracts come to an end, they’re both going to want to be paid handsomely.
While it might not seem like much now, every penny counts during contract negotiations. In fact, don’t be surprised if something similar happens to Sebastian Janikowski next season.
Why Didn’t Oakland Trade Reece?
This is the question that most of Raider Nation seems to be asking. But first, the real world isn’t like Madden. Trades don’t happen easily and they don’t happen often. And second, the need just isn’t there for a 31 year old fullback.
Turning 30 is where most NFL careers begin to wind down. This is especially true for running backs. The punishment these men endure on the field, paired with the grueling grind off of it, only gets harder to recover from as players get older.
The NFL has moved on from fullbacks. The NFL is now a passing league, and it has been for the last ten years. Few teams rely heavily on running backs to carry the offense as is, and even fewer carry a man who can only play fullback.
Even if a team really wants a fullback, they can find an undrafted one, or even select one in the later rounds of a draft, and they’ll get the job done. No general manager in his right mind is going to trade for a fullback, let alone a 31 year old fullback, fresh off a suspension.
Jamize Olawale
Very few teams carry a fullback, and no teams carry two. While Reece isn’t a conventional fullback by any means, he is still a fullback. With Latavius Murray, Taiwan Jones, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington already on the roster, the Raiders do not need another rusher.
And as far as big backs, or a blocking back, is concerned, the Raiders are already covered there as well. Jamize Olawale has been very good in Reece’s absence. In the first three games, on a team with four running backs, Olawale has already racked up 41 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders are set at fullback with the younger, faster Olawale and they simply don’t need Reece anymore.
