Top Five Oakland Raiders Most Likely To Punch a Ticket Outta Town In 2010

Here's something that I thought would be a little different to take on. Trying to guess which Oakland Raiders are most likely to get cut to make room for new draft picks and free agents.

I think everyone has there ideas about who "should" be removed, but I want to take it more in-depth and give solid, legit, Al Davis type rational decisions.

We've come to learn that the head coach, Tom Cable, is a no nonsense guy who wants players who want to be a part of the team.

He's looking for motivated guys who can "get after it" whenever they are in the game. Fifty-three men committed to one purpose.

High energy guys who other players feed off of and know how to play sound fundamental football.

Al Davis likes guys who are fast, big, and strong. Al Davis will likely tell Tom Cable who his first round draft pick is going to be based on what he feels the team needs and let Tom Cable take a shot at convincing him of who the others will be.

Tom will likely seek out free agents and try and get Mr. Davis to bring them in for tryouts. Tom's scouting staff will most likely search the low level colleges trying to create another great undrafted rookie class.
This year's undrafted rookies included Nick Miller-a wide receiver who probably should have been put on IR by this point, but is still active on the roster-David Nixon- a linebacker who impressed the coaching staff and has blazing speed, but needs to bulk up a bit- and Desmond Bryant- a defensive tackle who has been impressive and could potentially be a very solid starter in the NFL.

I expect this upcoming offseason to be very similar to the one prior. It was a rather successful offseason with a trade for Richard Seymour, a free agent addition of Greg Ellis and quite a great rookie class.
They are going to be after team captain type players.
They may go after another guy to mentor the highest paid expendable bust ever.

They might look for some more young linemen like the guys they brought in early in this years offseason.
They are looking towards building a team that Al Davis can turn over to his son that will run itself for a while, during a time in which Mark davis will be looking to get his feet wet in the atmosphere of the NFL front offices.

So being a combination of Al Davis and Tom Cable let's try to take a glance at the future and see if we can discover the top five players most likely to NOT be
Oakland Raiders in 2010.

WR No. 84 Javon Walker

While I'm sure Javon is grateful for everyone who lobbied for him this offseason, it has become more than obvious that the staff in Oakland wants very little to nothing to do with Javon's return to greatness.

At 31-years-old, Javon should be in his prime. With the depleted receiver corp the Raiders had been working with early in the year, it seemed to make a lot of sense to call his number.

However, after umpteen surgeries, the Raiders coaching staff thinks Javon is done as a pro football player...at least in Silver and Black.

It's not helpful that he had another surgery in early April and failed to tell the organization what was happening. That put him in the doghouse with the boss, Al Davis. It's a house that few ever escape.

With youngsters like Chaz Schilens and Johnnie Lee Higgins, along with rookies Louis Murphy and project Darrius Heyward-Bey, Javon's days in Oakland appear to be numbered.

Most likely, Walker will be released into free agency in February. In my opinion, he is the most likely player to not be an Oakland Raider in 2010.

LB No. 54 Sam Williams

Some people would say that his time was up in this year's preseason roster cuts. Others would say that he is pivotal to the special teams unit.

In 2010, I would say he needs to go to make room for players like Slade Norris and David Nixon.

Norris was this years fourth round draft choice, two spots after Louis Murphy. He had some trouble picking up his responsibilities in preseason ball, but the coaches liked his athleticism.

You can bet that if they keep a roster spot open for a special teams ace next year, it will likely be Slade Norris and not Sam Williams.

David Nixon was brought in as part of an impressive undrafted rookie free agent class for Oakland this year. He is a linebacker who weighs 220 pounds and runs a 4.38 forty yard dash. Coaches were very impressed with him, and Tom Cable, in particular, was high on what Nixon had to offer.

With the possible departure of free agents Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison, Nixon could find himself as a starter next season if he works out well.

Sam Williams signed a one year contract early this year. I think Al Daivs wished to honor that, however, I don't see another contract coming his way this offseason with Ricky Brown, Jon Alston, and Trevor Scott already creeping up on the current starters at linebacker.

Not to mention the presence of special teams aces Ike Ekejiuba and John Condo still making an impact.

HB No. 29 Michael Bush

Unfortunately, Michael Bush has not made a lasting impression on many people in his short tenure in a Oakland uniform. Aside from the Raider Nation of course.

The bottom line with Bush is that he has not been able to make an impression while splitting time with Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden.

Fargas is Cable's go to guy. McFadden is another one of Al Davis' height, weight, speed gems.

That leaves Bush as the odd man out. And on top of that he has a higher trade value than the fourth round pick that Oakland spent on him nearly three years ago.
Bush put himself in a bad light with the owner last season when he refused to play fullback. Can anyone say Marcus Allen?

This year, he seems to have put himself in the doghouse with Tom Cable too. McFadden and Fargas are getting most of the work.

Bush may not be comfortable in the plug and play tailback unit Oakland has built. I get a vibe from him like he wants to be the man.

I don't blame him, because he has tremendous skill. You kind of get the feeling he thinks he is an every down back.

Bush, in my opinion, is likely to get traded after this year, and the Raiders might look for someone who is really a number three back, similar Louis Rankin.
Don't ask me what they want for him, maybe a draft pick, or a lineman with potential?

One thing we do know is that he was being shopped this year.

RG No. 66 Cooper Carlisle

The Raiders are in a youth movement and Cooper Carlisle is not very youthful anymore.

The 32-year-old, 10 year pro has been one of the few constants on the line this year and his zone blocking experience is priceless.

But the simple fact of the matter is that the trenches are the toughest places to play in the NFL. You get hit, knocked around, and dirty on every play.

With guys like Chris Morris, Eric Pears, and Khalif Barnes likely to come into next years camps, along with potential draft picks and free agents, Carlisle may be looking for work next year.

CB No. 26 Stanford Routt

I went back and forth with this choice, but I ultimately came to the conclusion that while Routt has made some good plays for the Raiders this year, he has been too inconsistent.

With the emergence of Michael Huff and Tyvon Branch, the Raiders also have suitable back-up Hirum Eugene and Mike Mitchell who will be looking to fill that spot at nickel corner in order to obtain more playing time.

In addition, I think that the Raiders will look to take a high draft pick, like first round or second round, looking to replace Chris Johnson alongside Nnamdi Asomugha. Johnson has struggled to live up to last year's hype so far, but would look great in Nickel packages unlike the floundering Routt.

Randy Hanson back in Oakland? http://fanhuddle.com/oaklandraiders/2009/12/09/oakland-raiders-the-return-of-randy-hanson/