The Oakland Raiders have had themselves one heck of an offseason. Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has followed a pair of extremely successful drafts with a wise-spending spree in NFL free agency that landed the franchise further protection for quarterback Derek Carr (Kelechi Osemele, Donald Penn) and a couple of playmakers on defense (Bruce Irvin, Sean Smith). Really, the lone dark spot in the Black Hole's otherwise bright offseason has been the continued concern over Mario Edwards Jr.'s health.
Edwards was placed on IR in December after suffering a strange and, what was later revealed to be potentially career-threatening, neck injury. And while there's still no definitive answer as to whether Edwards will be suiting up for the silver and black in 2016, there seemed to be some good news on his status on Wednesday.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio updated Edwards' injury, saying that the franchise is "optimistic" that the big pass rusher will be back in the lineup in 2016.
"We hope so," Del Rio said. "We love Mario. Great young man, really had a nice year for us last year. He feels good and that will be determined at some point this offseason, but we remain optimistic."
And Edwards himself said that he wasn't just expecting to get back out on the field next year - he was expecting to excel and thinking Pro Bowl.
McKenzie told reporters earlier this month that Edwards was doing "great," and that the team just needed to give him "time" to heal.
Edwards will meet with his own doctor, as well as team doctors, sometime in the next month so that the Raiders can get a clearer view of his long-term prognosis.
The Raiders obviously have reason to hope Edwards is able to return. Even with the addition of Irvin, Edwards' presence in the front seven of Ken Norton Jr.'s unit would be sorely missed.
As Justin Tuck faded from the memory of Raiders fans in 2015, Edwards rose to prominence in his place. Edwards and Raiders stud linebacker Khalil Mack combined to create a consistent pass rush force fans in Oakland haven't seen in years.
In 14 games, Edwards collected 42 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and even added a pair of passes defensed. Even more importantly, in the four games he and Mack spent terrorizing the opposition, they collected 25 quarterback hurries.
A versatile talent viewed as something of a project prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, Edwards played much better in Year One than even the Raiders probably expected. Whether he can build on that in 2016 remains to be seen, but the hope of Raider Nation is likely at least partly buoyed by Del Rio and Edwards' comments on Wednesday.
