Oakland Raiders to sign center Rodney Hudson

By Cory Buck | Mar 9, 2015

Nov 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs center Rodney Hudson (61) before the start of the game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

The Oakland Raiders are reportedly set to make free agent center Rodney Hudson the highest paid player at his position in the league.

The Oakland Raiders have cash to burn and eventually someone has to bite, right? While a flurry of signings have swept through the NFL, or rather agreements given that free agency isn’t officially open until Tuesday at 4PM, the Raiders have found few willing to accept any of the gobs of cash they have to spend this offseason. Now former Kansas City Chiefs center Rodney Hudson appears set to accept some of that money.

Rodney Hudson is going to Oakland. $44.5M on a 5 year deal. Someone taking the Raiders' money.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 9, 2015

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Hudson’s contract will take him above Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey for the distinction as the highest paid center in the NFL as his deal will average a tick under $9 million per year. The Raiders are reportedly hoping to front load a bunch of that money to put the figure on the 2015 books, where the team has nearly $60 million in salary cap space.

The Raiders certainly aren’t done as they’re going to be reported to be interested in basically everyone by the time this free agency period slows down. With all NFL teams required to spend to a certain point over a four-year period, the Raiders need to get to work if they’re going to be compliant with the CBA. So far so good with Hudson.

Outside of an unfortunate 2012 season in which Rodney Hudson broke his leg in the third game, the center has played in every game for the Chiefs, showing a form in the last two seasons that suggests the injury has no effect on how he’ll play going forward. Now the Raiders are hoping Hudson can bring that experience to steady the play of second-year quarterback Derek Carr, who showed promise in his 2014 rookie season.

With the Chiefs apparently set to spend big money on receiver Jeremy Maclin and still embroiled in a game of franchise tag chicken with defensive end Justin Houston, losing Hudson was a no-brainer. Now they know they couldn’t have even come close to offering what Hudson could receive on the open market.

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