Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders Early Candidates to Sign Desmond Bishop
By Brian Spaen
Desmond Bishop was released by the Green Bay Packers earlier today. Despite not playing all of last season, the middle linebacker believes that he hasn’t proven himself in the NFL.
Bishop suffered a torn hamstring tendon during preseason last year and spent the entire season recovering from the injury. It came at a bad time, just one year after a four-year contract extension worth $19 million. The Packers also cut his replacement, D.J. Smith.
According to Pro Football Talk, “the Packers told [Bishop] they would try to trade him, but never offered him the option of a pay cut.”
It’s clear that has really given the middle linebacker ambition for the next team that picks him up. The Minnesota Vikings have surged as an early candidate and will bring him in on Wednesday for tryouts.
Another team that has emerged late today are the Oakland Raiders, according to team blogger Steve Corkran.
#Raiders are deep at linebacker right now, but it's still possible that they make a run at released Packers LB Desmond Bishop. Solid player.
— Steve Corkran (@CorkOnTheNFL) June 17, 2013
Rotoworld goes further in Corkran’s prediction, giving a potential scenario but an unlikely result.
"The Raiders paid Nick Roach to man the middle, and they also have third-round rookie Sio Moore and free-agent pickup Kevin Burnett flanking him. It’s possible they could move Roach to his natural strong-side spot and have Moore be a backup in year one, but the Raiders have bigger problems than linebacker."