Darren McFadden pushing back against Oakland Raiders contract feelers
By Mike Dyce
Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden didn’t fair well in the offensive scheme last year. It didn’t suit his running style. That coupled with injuries last season has taken away all of McFadden’s leverage in negotiating the deal he wants this summer.
So McFadden is pulling a Joe Flacco so to speak. He is going to enter the final year of his contract with out a deal and let his performance in the 2013 season dictate the deal he gets in 2014. Essentially McFadden is betting on himself to earn a bigger deal than he could get this summer.
“Obviously he never felt comfortable in what we were doing last year,” coach Dennis Allen told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. “That led to some questions about him, but if you watch practice, the guy’s still explosive. He’s still a threat to take it all the way. And he feels more comfortable. If you don’t quite trust it, there’s always that doubt.”
The Raiders have checked in with McFadden to feel him out but McFadden has been closed off. He has a chip on his shoulder and the contract situation is serving as an extra source of motivation for the upcoming season, and it could end up costing the Raiders.