Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie met with local writers for nearly a half-hour at the team hotel at the Indianapolis scouting combine: A transcription:



Q: Free agency approach, some guys will be monitored when they hit the market. Will Wisniewski hit the market?

McKenzie: I don’t know yet. Our guys have talked to him and we’ve been talking to Wiz since last summer. But we’re going to see how it plays out.

Q: Would you like to have him back, at right value?

McKenzie: There’s always a right price to everything. Everybody sees value differently. We’ll see how it goes. And it’s not just with Wiz, it’s with every free agent, restricted guys, even future free agents from other teams. They’re going to have their own value from what they perceive they deserve. If it fits what we want . . .

Q: Is it more important to keep Wiz because he was a high pick and you guys haven’t been able to keep some of your higher picks? Or is it case by case?

McKenzie: It’s going to be case by case. Nobody’s going to make me push the panic button to overvalue a player. That’s where you get into trouble. You’ve got to figure out, it doesn’t matter who you lose, you’ve got to figure out a replacement and whoever we bring in, it doesn’t matter, quarterback or backup corner, you’ve got to figure out how to replace every player if it comes to that. You prepare yourself. You want to keep all your players. You’d love to keep them for the right price. This year we have a lot of cap money to do some things, so we’ll try to get better at every position. We’re not just pinpointing one or two spots. We need to upgrade every position. That’s the way we feel.

Q: When going through the process of whether to retain Tony Sparano or go outside the organization, were you concerned members of the rookie class would in essence have to start all over in terms of new systems of football with a new staff?

McKenzie: I think with great players, they perform in whatever system you give ’em. That’s why I like to just go after good players and not system players. In the same vein, I think it’s very important to maintain continuity. So it is important for players to continue to speak the same language on both sides of the ball and special teams. But the bottom line is we were 3-13, so we’ve got to improve. When it comes down to it, it’s about winning ballgames, and we feel like, for instance, we feel like our quarterback is smart enough, he came in, picked up that system and ran with it. He’s going to have, he’s already introduced himself to the coach, he’s working out on his own, he knows the plays. He’s farther ahead this year than he was last year. Lot of the same lingo, Derek has already told me, the way the system is, from a lingo standpoint, that’s not a problem. That’s just one case in point. I think all these players, Khalil Mack, you talk about the rookies that are playing, Khalil Mack, Justin Ellis, Gabe Jackson, TJ, from their standpoint, all those rookies that played extensively I don’t think there’s going to be a dropoff at all because of the systems.

Q: Could that rookie class have done much better than it did? Even when you pulled McGill into the lineup at the end of the year he was OK . . .

McKenzie: I’m hoping to see him. He was hurt, and ended up having surgery at the end of the season, but he’s one of those guy we expect bigger and better things from. Could they have done anymore? I’m going to say yes, because I’m sure Derek would like to have had more completions, more touchdowns. Khalil would have liked to have more sacks. I’m thinking they just scratched the surface to be honest with you. Am I pleased with, not just production, I’m pleased with the way those guys went about their business. You knew they were going to be good players. because they had the right attitude. They wanted to be good, they wanted to be out there, and they practiced like it. When you see guys like that, from a mental standpoint, you go game by game, they did not, they weren’t a guys that were making a whole bunch of mistakes. As rookies, it wasn’t like, oh, man, that was a big-time bust. You didn’t have to go through those growing pains like that. Best rookie class, I’d have to go back the other 19 years since I’ve been around, but this was a great start.

Q: Jack talked about Raiders being an increasingly attractive place to play. You have cash, a quarterback, upgrading facility, do you believe that for quality free agents the Raiders could be an attractive desitnation.

Q: McKenzie: I don’t think there’s any question. I think when you add, players like to be around great players, really. And offensive players, the one question they want to know is who is going to be the quarterback. That’s a given. This thing is, I was talking to the staff, we’re in the recruiting stage. Free agency, money, is major recruiting. It’s like colleges, they want to see what you got. They want to see where we play, where we practice, where we meet. It’s all important. What city you’ll be in. Highlight the positives and that’s a part of it. And really, it gets to the point where they talk amongst themselves and everybody is positive. the energy is all about that, it’s all about the vibe that they get when they’re around current players. They see each other throughout, where they train, where they live. It’s up to us to try and help facilitate that.

Q: What can you tell us about Nick Roach’s status? Has he been cleared?

McKenzie: No. It’s still the same. The last time the medical staff had spoken to me, he has not cleared as of yet. You’ve got to start looking out for the player. We’ll continue to communicate with the medical staff and I’ll talk to Nick and we’ll make the decision. But I’m in the best interests of the player and as much as we’d love him to be our signal caller on defense, I don’t want to risk life-long injury if he goes out there. Especially if he has any, not discomfort, but any type of feeling within him that something’s not right. And for it to last this long is not a good thing.

Q: You had Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers in on one-year contracts. Any interest in bringing them back?

McKenzie: I’m going to let those guys hit the market and we’ll see what happens there. We like what our young corners have done. I think veterans like that are here on the team to bring those young guys along. And I think they kind of did that. Carlos was a savvy veteran that they leaned on. Tarell did a good job with those guys. I think it’s their turn.

Q: Get away from signing two veteran corners per year . .

McKenzie: You want to make sure you get guys that can play, that you don’t want to have to keep bringing in.

Q: Think Hayden, Carrie, McGill, ready to be the top guys?

McKenzie: Yeah. I think they’re ready now. I don’t think you can just say those three names and expect to go through the full season. I still think you need one or two more. My point is, I don’t think you need that old cagey, savvy veteran to help bring along. I think they’re at a point now where they played, I’ve got Charles Woodson in the room, they got the understand that this is how we approach the game, this is how we’re giong to approach each play. I don’t need that particular guy. If it’s a guy that can come in and be a great starter, yes. If he can be a great backup, not only at the corner position but safety, D-line, every position we’re going to upgrade.

Q: Could your approach to free agency change. Last year you needed volume. This year you’ve got a foundation and could you concentrate money on one or two as opposed to getting a bunch?

McKenzie: I’m going to try and go after good players. I don’t think last year, I felt like we need more role players. Now we’re looking for some guys who can come in and be impact (players). Be starters. More so. So in volume, that way, I’m looking for less volume that way. I don’t need as many backup players. We need to get stronger. We’re going to go after some real players.

Q: Jack Del Rio said Austin Howard will probably go out to tackle . .

McKenzie: Not probably. We’re going to move him to tackle.

Q: That leaves Gabe Jackson as only interior offensive lineman if Wiz hits the market . . . a target area of free agnecy and draft?

McKenzie: It’s a good year for offensive linemen in the draft. If we lose guys, it’s our job to replace ’em. We won’t go in there without interior players. I want to have the best offensive line. Whoever we try to bring in if someone decides to go, that happens. We’re not going to ever push the panic button.

Q: If you got a good price on McFadden like last year, would you consider bringing him back?

McKenzie: To me, this year’s a little different because Latavius, last year, in 2013 he spent the whole season rehabbing an injury, surgery. Last year, I think he showed that he can be a player. Whether he’s a starter or a 1-2 player, it doesn’t matter. I would like to try to explore options also. We’re going to talk to his guy. We’ll meet with McFadden’s agent this week and see what’s going on, but I want to bring another guy in to try and push him. There are no given spots to anyone.

Q: You’ve avoided the kind of suspensions and off-the-field issues other teams have had. Do you put more of an emphasis in looking into backgrounds, or is it the same as you’ve always done?

McKenzie: We put the emphasis on it. I learned that with Ted Thompson in Green Bay. You’ve got to be able to count on guys. You want them to be there every game and not get stuck in some suspension deal. So, when I came here, that was one of the things that I want to make sure, our scouting department, our coaches knew. I want to treat this locker room as if I was in it. I want to be able to look left and right and say, these are the guys I want to play with. That don’t mean we’re not going to bring in guys with any issues. We’re going to bring in guys with an issue. We the information, and if it says, you probably don’t want to do this guy, we’re going to listen to it. There are some issues that, a guy was maybe a freshman or early sophomore and did some stupid stuff but have been solid after that, you take everything into account. You take into account all the information you get from the school, or the police, or psychologists. All the information that you can get, you go through it. But we do take in the background checks, the character of the guys and make a determination there.

Q: Where does Watson stand with Howard at right tackle? Competing?

McKenzie: Absolutely. Competing. I don’t want a guy, this guy’s a starter and this guy’s a starter, and this guy’s a backup who doesn’t think about starting. If I can get four starters, left and right tackle, that’d be great. At some point, guys go down, and you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re afraid to protect your quarterback. You can’t move the ball, you can’t block anybody. That’s an ugly feeling. We’re going to let ’em compete, let ‘en battle and we’re going to go from there.

Q: There’s a perception you really need a wide receiver, do you buy into that, go out and get one of those game changers. High on your checklist?

McKenzie: My checklist, I got a big checklist. It’s not just receivers. But receiver is one of the positions I want to try and upgrade. Moving Austin to tackle, I want to get an interior player. Another guy to compete with Latavius in the backfield. I could go down the list. We need players. What I won’t do is pinpoint one position and regardless of how the draft falls, regardless, if you just target one position and I’m going to get that position. Any position we have a chance to upgrade we’re going to do it.

Q: Could you come out of free agency with three or four starters, Is that what you’re looking for?

McKenzie: If they come. If they come. Those guys are going to have to compete too. Certain players that we bring in, it’s not a red carpet deal, their position on matter what. We’re go after starter-type guys.

Q: Plenty happy to get Mack, but you evaluated everybody, and wound up being lot of good wide receievers, three with a thousand yards and Watkins was close. Did you see that kind of talent? And in this year’s class, do the top WRs have similar skills?

McKenzie: Yes, similar skill sets. Last year, there were a lot of guys we had in that top area. Even some of those second-rounders had production. You talk about the first round, from last year there were some guys in the second round that were productive. It was a good class last year from a rookie production standpoint.

Q: Is it upward trend of having good college WRs because of the way colleges play offense and the emphasis on passing?

McKenzie: Yeah. But still, a lot of those players, the receivers have to work on work blocking. They’ve got to work on running the entire route tree because there are just certain things that some of them do. More of the quick screens, certain routes that they don’t run as much and that type of offense. But as far as receiving skills, catching the ball, knowing how to high-point balls and back-shoulders, certain skills sets, you see a lot more talent that way because in the numbers. You’re playing with a lot more receivers now in college than you were 10 or 15 years ago.

Q: Sio Moore, there wasn’t much said about his long-term prognosis. Will he be ready for camp?

McKenzie: yeah. He should be ready for camp. Nothing negative from our medical staff that he wouldn’t be ready for camp. But he had major surgery, so it’s going to take him awhile. He’ll rehab and get stronger. Not going to push him through and make him be ready for the start of OTAs. We’re not going to do that. We’ll be smart about it and let him rehab, get strong, but no, he should be fine by training camp.

Q: Future for Tyvon Branch, high cap number may give you flexibility, do you want him back if healthy?

McKenzie: that’s going to be a situation we’re going to have to monitor, because the injury situation has been an issue the last couple of years. We’re going to have to talk that through some more. After we get back from the combine. I’ll talk to his agent while we’re here, and we’ll try and see where his head’s at, how he feels physically and try to figure that out.

Q: Is it realistic to think Matt Schaub could be back as a backup?

McKenzie: It’s always realistic. Guys, we went through a situation where we played three different quarterbacks in a year in my short three years here. I don’t like doing that. I don’t like trying to figure out, are we going to be able to take a snap and function on offense. I felt like we had three quarterbacks last year I was comfortable with. He’s played a lot of football. He’s smart. I’m not in favor of just giving up on guys that can play the game. Now, from the standpoint of competition and the direction that we’ll go, we’ll talk to Schaub’s guy. His number is not bad at all contractually.

Q: But a lot to pay a backup . . .

McKenzie: Yeah. But everything can happen. He doesn’t have anything that is forcing our hand right now. There could other teams that want him and maybe would trade me a player for him. There are different things that could happen. You don’t just give up on a player that has some value. Just because his number is maybe higher than you would like that don’t mean you give up on him. We’re not in a position like I was a couple of years ago trying to re-do a contract just to try and fit and do some things. I’m not in that situation. We’re in a pretty good situation.

Q:: So you may not cut a lot of veterans simply because you don’t have to, you can see what happens . .

McKenzie: Yes.

