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Matt Schaub: A Microcosm of Recent Raiders’ Struggles

It’s somewhat understandable that the Oakland Raiders targeted a veteran quarterback in the offseason. At the time they traded for Matt Schaub, there wasn’t anyone on the roster that could have been considered a viable starter in the NFL.

The problem with this trade was that Oakland viewed Schaub as a decent stopgap starter in the NFL. This at a time when most around the league had written him off following a disastrous 2013 campaign with the Houston Texans. The trade also represented narrow-minded thinking from the front office brass.

The draft had not even rolled around at this point, yet Oakland figured it made sense to pay a backup quarterback $8 million a season. Logically speaking, that was a fail in and of itself.

Now as Derek Carr’s backup, Schaub threw his first regular season pass in a Raiders uniform on Sunday.

https://vine.co/v/OhlE9TMJbvT

I guess the Raiders can be happy that Browns defensive back Tashaun Gibson didn’t return it for a touchdown. Just ask Texans fans.

In any case, the Raiders are paying Schaub $8 million ($500 thousand per game) to hold field goals for a kicker. Field goals that have been few and far between for a Raiders team that is 31st in the NFL in scoring offense and has attempted eight field goals through seven games. Okay, so maybe he’s being paid $437,500 per field goal hold.

After all, Schaub obviously isn’t being paid to throw passes or as much as travel with the team to London as the backup. Instead, those honors went to undrafted second-year player Matt McGloin, who is already a better option than Schaub should something happen to Derek Carr.

Listen, this article is nothing more than a magnification of what’s gone wrong for the Raiders in recent years. It’s not as much about what Oakland gave up to acquire Matt Schaub (very little). Instead, it’s about the use of $8 million for a quarterback that most people viewed as unworthy of seeing the field after imploding in his final season with the Texans.

$8 million that could have been used to re-sign offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, who is playing great football with the Arizona Cardinals.

$8 million to re-sign Lamarr Houston, who…well never mind. 

Or $8 million to add a quality young free agent to a roster that’s obviously lacking the necessary talent to compete on a consistent basis.

Instead, Oakland spent starting quarterback money on a player who is no better than over half the backups in the NFL. And in the process, he’s making twice as much as the likes of Matt Moore, Chad Henne and Michael Vick…all of whom are viable backups today.

Schaub is almost literally stealing money from the Raiders at this point. And in reality, he is a microcosm of what’s gone wrong for the organization in recent seasons. In order for the franchise to turn things around, it must look at these mistakes of the past and start with a new slate. The good news here is that Oakland did structure its 2014 free-agent class with an eye to the future. It can get out from under most of the deals that were signed this past offseason, at which point the team must change a front office philosophy that just hasn’t worked in recent seasons.

Photo: NFL.com

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