After trading their center of the past six years, the Raiders appear to have settled on a replacement. They are signing former Texans snapper Nick Martin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Martin’s work will not remind most of Rodney Hudson‘s, with the since-traded center being a three-time Pro Bowler. Still, the Raiders figure to save substantially by replacing Hudson with Martin.
Transitioning to their Nick Caserio regime, the Texans cut Martin after he spent the past four seasons as their starting center. While he did not fare as well as Hudson did in this span, Martin did receive an $11M-per-year extension from the previous Texans regime. Martin will attempt to rebound in Las Vegas.
The Raiders have made some interesting decisions this week. Their three highest-paid O-linemen — Hudson, right tackle Trent Brown and longtime right guard Gabe Jackson — are gone. The Raiders have since re-signed Richie Incognito after cutting him, and they brought back the player who replaced Incognito post-injury last season, Denzelle Good. Las Vegas appears to still have a hole at right tackle, but the other four spots along its offensive line may be set.
However, third-year blocker Andre James might factor into the equation at center. This should be considered James’ job to lose, Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes. While Martin has a massive experience edge (62 starts to one), he might not be a lock to start in Vegas.
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