We take a look at the tight end position for the Raiders ahead of free agency to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.
Returning starter: Darren Waller
Depth: Jesper Horsted, Cole Fotheringham
Free agents: Foster Moreau
Waller is one of the best in the league. Just after signing a big extension, he had a down year. In part because of injuries. But he’d proven his abilities to earn that contract, so there’s no reason to doubt he can return to form.
Waller and Moreau have been a nice one-two punch at tight end for the past few years. The man jokingly referred to as ‘Baby Gronk’ had his chance to step up and play like it with Waller missing time. And while it led to career-high numbers for the former 4th round pick, his 33 catches for 420 yards didn’t give anyone visions of the next Gronk in Josh McDaniels’s offense.
Condition: Stable
Why: It would be smart to try and keep Moreau around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped at the chance to get a solid deal to be a potential starter elsewhere. And there are several second-tier tight ends headed for free agency who could probably replace him as the bookend to Waller.
