Michael Crabtree rumors: Top 3 landing spots

The Oakland Raiders have moved on from wide receiver Michael Crabtree, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still help an NFL team.

Some team is going to sign a very good wide receiver in the next few days, and that man is Michael Crabtree.

Crabtree’s stats with the Oakland Raiders don’t look great from 2017, as he only had 58 receptions for 618 yards and eight touchdowns. However, the Oakland offense as a whole was pretty mediocre. The Raiders finished 16th in passing yards per game with just about 226 yards per contest and scored 18.8 points per game, good for 23rd in the NFL.

Crabtree will only be 31 years old in September and has plenty of gas left in the tank. Both 2015 and 2016 saw Crabtree snag more than 80 receptions and clear 900 yards. His best fit will be with a team that doesn’t need him to be the No. 1 option. He’s going to be best if paired with a true No. 1 and playing a possession role. There are a few teams that seem to fit the bill.

Best Fits

1. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts hired an offensive-minded head coach in Frank Reich and are hoping franchise quarterback Andrew Luck is fully recovered from a mysterious shoulder injury that cost him all of 2017. They have a gaping hole at the No. 2 receiver spot, especially after Donte Moncrief left for the Jaguars. Crabtree would be an excellent fit as a intermediate area receiver, as T.Y. Hilton is a major downfield threat.

2. Arizona Cardinals

This fit isn’t the same kind as Indianapolis, but the Cardinals need a receiver badly. Larry Fitzgerald is coming back for at least one more season and Arizona signed Sam Bradford to be its quarterback for the upcoming year. The Cardinals corps still wouldn’t have a ton of speed, but Fitzgerald and Crabtree would mesh well with Bradford’s accuracy in a West Coast style offense.

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3. New Orleans Saints

This would seem unfair to opposing defenses, but reports had the Saints looking at ex-Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson. New Orleans is likely to lose Brandon Coleman in free agency and is on the hunt for another red-zone threat. An offense that boasts quarterback Drew Brees is sure to appeal to Crabtree, as is Sean Payton as a head coach. Michael Thomas, Crabtree and Ted Ginn Jr. would be quite the trio for the Saints.