Oakland Raiders Rumors: Raiders Shouldn't Waste Franchise Tag on Michael Bush

Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush is due to be a free agent at season's end after signing a one-year contract last summer. Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times suggests the team will need to use the franchise tag on him since starter Darren McFadden can't seem to shake the injury-prone label.

Simply put, that would be a terrible decision by the Raiders. Bush became nothing more than a volume rusher following his best game of the season against the San Diego Chargers in Week 10. In all but one of the final seven games, he averaged less than four yards per carry.

While the Raiders were surely thrilled to have a running back maintain a heavy workload without breaking down, that doesn't mean his performance should be characterized as anything other than mundane.

Franchising Bush would cause the Raiders to spend a lot of money on running backs for next season since McFadden is already under contract. They have plenty of other holes to fill if they plan on making a return trip to the playoffs and really can't afford to lock up that much money at one spot.

Dynamic, game-changing backs like McFadden don't grow on trees, so Oakland needs to keep him around regardless of his problems.

The same can't be said for Bush. The Raiders could spend a mid- to late-round pick on a backup running back that could do a serviceable job filling in for McFadden if need be. That's been the positional trend in recent years because so many impact players have been drafted late or even gone undrafted.

It's not like Bush has any irreplaceable skills, either. He's only a minor contributor in the passing game and isn't known for busting off big runs to change momentum. The Louisville product is just a bruiser who got a chance to carry the ball a lot this season to boost his stats.

The McFadden concerns are understandable, but the Raiders can't afford to overreact by making a needless move like tagging Bush. It's a move that would end up costing Oakland a chance to bring in a player that could actually help the franchise take another step toward the postseason.

Bush doesn't have enough value to warrant that type of sacrifice.