Michael Crabtree expected to sign with the Oakland Raiders

Michael Crabtree is looking to bring some excitement back to his name by becoming an Oakland Raider.

Michael Crabtree just couldn’t walk away from the beautiful state of California after spending the first six years of his career there.

More from Las Vegas Raiders

No, that doesn’t mean Crabtree is remaining in San Francisco with the 49ers, but rather he has decided to relocate a short distance to Oakland and become a Raider. It was reported a week ago that the two sides were meeting, and now ESPN’s Bill Williamson has broken the news that the two sides will in fact agree upon a deal.

From @caplannfl and myself, #Raiders expected to sign Michael Crabtree as soon as tonight.
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) April 13, 2015

For the 49ers, this is just another person lost in an offseason that has turned their team and identity completely around. Crabtree leaving the 49ers has been an expected move for a long time, but it’s still shocking to see another one of their people go. Oh well, maybe they have some genius plan up their sleeve.

Crabtree is only 27 years old, and he is hoping to use this year with the Raiders to put some stock back into his name. He was the 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft for San Francisco, but he never lived up to the hype that his college game brought him.

Seriously, he did that type of stuff in college.

Rumor is that this will be a one-year deal, and that’s a good thing for Crabtree. He thinks he is a great receiver that wrongly hit a low place for one reason or another, so a one-year deal will give him the opportunity to show the world what he is really made of. If Crabtree can be great this year, he will be able to sing a bigger multi-year deal next offseason.

I am told it's a 1 year deal for Crabtree with Oakland. Very incentive heavy - prove it deal
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) April 14, 2015

Crabtree’s best season came in 2012 when he caught 85 passes for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. Everyone was hoping that was the start of something special, but sadly he tore his Achilles the following season after playing only five games. He returned last year and played all 16 games, but he didn’t look like his former explosive self as he caught only 68 catches for 698 yards and four touchdowns.

The Raiders are hoping for a simple low-risk, high-reward situation. They sign him to a cheap one-year deal, and if it doesn’t work out – who cares? On the other side of that, what if it does work out? Then they will look like geniuses. They might draft a receiver with the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft, but right now their wide receiver unit consists of James Jones, Andre Holmes, Kenbrell Thompkins and Brice Butler. No offense to those guys, but that isn’t the best unit to give a second-year quarterback (Derek Carr) who you are hoping can become your franchise guy.

In a perfect world, this will be the type of deal that benefits both parties. Hopefully Crabtree can remind everyone how talented he is, and hopefully the Raiders get a true number one receiver for their young quarterback.

More from FanSided

Home/Las Vegas Raiders