The Oakland Raiders didn't submit a major offer to Green Bay Packers restricted free agent Sean Richardson, but it may be enough to bring him to the cozy confines of the O.co Coliseum for next year, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN believes that it's unlikely Packers GM Ted Thompson will match the offer.
"By tendering Richardson at the lowest level of $1.542 million, Thompson essentially revealed the value he placed on the former undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt. The next-highest tender would have cost Thompson $2.356 million, which nearly matches the one-year, $2.55 million offer Richardson got from the Raiders," Demovsky writes.
With Morgan Burnett and last year's first-round pick Ha-Ha Clinton Dix slated to fill the two starting safety spots for Green Bay next season - and the versatile Micah Hyde likely to fill the nickelback/third safety role - it was unlikely that Richardson would get much, if any chance to see the field in defensive packages.
"Yes, Thompson has matched offer sheets for restricted free agents before; he did so in 2009 when the Tennessee Titans gave Jarrett Bush a three-year, $4.5 million contract, but that deal came much closer to Bush's actual tender," Demovsky allows. "The Packers gave Bush the lowest tender (which at that time was $1.01 million), so the Titans' offer, which averaged $1.5 million per season, was much closer to the tender than where Richardson's offer came in."
Despite the fact that the Packers currently have approximately $17.255 million in salary-cap space, $2.55 million may prove too rich for Thompson's blood, even for a core special-teamer like Richardson.
While it's unlikely that Richardson will find his way to a starting spot for new Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio next season, considering the presence of Charles Woodson and the big free agent contract handed to Nate Allen, he's likely to contribute heavily in the game's third phase.
Special teams however, were not a strong suit for the Pack last season, as they finished dead last in the Dallas Morning News' annual rankings despite Richardson playing the most special teams snaps of any Packers player.
