With the Start of Training Camp, the Derrick Burgess Saga Continues

The news out of the opening day of training camp circled around the absences of two key players: first round draft pick Darrius Heyward-Bey and disgruntled defensive end Derrick Burgess.

Heyward-Bey, who was limited during OTA’s with a hamstring injury, has yet to sign a contract, but head coach Tom Cable remains optimistic that a deal will be reached sooner rather than later.

As for Burgess, the saga is ongoing, although now that he is officially a holdout, it seems more and more likely that Burgess’ days in Oakland are numbered.

Since the beginning of the offseason, Burgess has been a non-presence, choosing not to attend optional workouts and in May, being sidelined from the team’s mandatory minicamp due to an “upset stomach.”

The team has taken a hushed approach to the situation, as evidenced by Cable’s most recent comments regarding Burgess’ absence, stating, “we really haven’t talked about a reason and that’s really all I’m going to say about [it].”

Despite neither side going so far as to lambaste each other through the press, Burgess and the Raiders have both expressed their desire to seek a trade.

Prior to the draft, the prevalent rumor involved the Raiders sending Burgess to the New England Patriots, and despite the draft being over and done with, the Patriots are still apparently interested in acquiring the eight-year veteran.

Now entering his final year of a five-year contract, Burgess is due to make $2 million this upcoming season. However, the issue isn’t simply about the money.

At 30 years of age and coming off his worst statistical year as a Raider, Burgess is looking to move on to a surefire contender. Although the Raiders would like to think that a healthy Burgess can return to his old form, the fact of the matter is, Burgess doesn’t believe the Raiders can win and he doesn’t want to waste another year contending for anything less than a Super Bowl.

And while acquiring Burgess certainly makes sense for the Patriots, the Raiders have to make sure any such deal makes sense for them, and not like the 2007 deal that sent Randy Moss to the Patriots for a mere fourth rounder.

In truth, this tiresome saga should never have come to this. Unless Cable and staff were busy trying to get their defensive end back on board, Burgess should have been dealt at the draft.

It’s hard to say the situation has been detrimental to the team as the staff has done an excellent job at keeping the team focused and on track, and with the acquisition of veteran Greg Ellis, the team seems like it has its collective sights set forward.

However, now that Burgess is an official holdout, it’s hard to see this situation turning out favorably unless a trade is made.