One of the premier fullbacks of his era may be out of teams to block for.
The Raiders announced Wednesday they have released Lorenzo Neal to make roster room for safety Rashad Baker.
Neal, 38, was part of an effective running game in Baltimore last year, but the Ravens didn't make an effort to re-sign him. The Chargers cut the affable four-time Pro Bowler after the 2007 season; Neal has been a part of eight different NFL organizations after getting drafted by New Orleans in 1993.
The release is a surprise, but Neal was never expected to start for the Raiders. Oren O'Neal will clear the way for Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, and Michael Bush.
Raiders cut two-time All Pro Neal
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 19, 2009 9:32 PM ET
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I'm sure we have some cap left over to grab him for a year. The guy is a guard on wheels.
Maybe the Seahawks could use him to plow the road.
I thought he was supposed to be the big blocker that the Raiders needed? Why was he realeased? Justin Fargas is less valuable than him.
So I guess the Eagles just wanted to thank Baker personally for getting them in the playoffs. Glad to have him back, guess that means Mitchell is going to be out awhile or they want to play Baker as nickel CB.
Neal is another swing and miss to get a vet leader on offense. God help us, we actually need Javon Walker even more now.
what a shame.
Lo Neal is a class act on and off the field.
One of the truly good guys in the nfl.
Best of luck Lo!
Dont think it's a good move for the raiders to toss him, wouldve made mcfadden lethal this year.
Neal is underappreciated by many. The guy goes out each week and does the grunt work, and does it well. Never complains, never whines, never seeks attention. Just goes out and does his job each week.
The NFL needs more players in the league like Lorenzo Neal
Why is it that he gets dropped just about every year? Then just shows up and makes an immediate impact in the new teams running game. I think that even at 38 he could still bring the wood.
EdReed4Prez is right...I would love to have Lorenzo back!!!!
I sure would've loved to see Lorenzo Neal put a beatdown on his former team week 1. If there was anybody we needed to beat the chargers, it was Neal. He helped build their win streak against us and I was hoping he'd be there to break it.
I thought a blade was involved considering it's the Raiders.
It's called the quartablood. I cut you and a quartablood falls out of you. "Trading Places"
A must see movie if you haven't already.
Beef Jerky Time!
Ok, I'll stop.
For now.........
Good luck Lorenzo....
This means Oren O'Neal is good to go, and his knee is fine. O'Neal is a beast too.
Oren O'Neal is faster has way better hands and can block just as good if not better than Lorenzo right now. Lorenazo will get picked up by someone im sure. The guy shows up ready to play and plays hard but time gets the best of everyone eventually.
Stupid move. I always liked that guy and he brought leadership to the offense. I agree with Grimmock, Neal would have been extra brutal on the Dolts. Will there be another Monday night beat down? Seems so.
HOF?
This is the Raiders we're talking about ... Do you really expect them to start making good decisions when they are as dysfunctional as they are?
I chuckle every time I see someone wearing Raiders gear... Serves 'em right.
Wow this seriously shocks me.
I'd love to see him in red and gold with an arrowhead on his helmet.
This is a real shame. You cannot say enough good things about Neal. All of the backs he has blocked for over the years owe him tremendously for their success.
I hope he gets picked up by someone else ASAP!
Maybe he's washed up? I just don't get the Baker signing though, Macho Harris went past him on the charts during camp, and is a convert CB.
Atleast they are better than KC and Denver. Talk about issues, these teams are imploding before playing a regular season game.
This is a suprise? For who? The fair-wheather football fan that thinks he's a comedian that come to this site. Or the sports writers that look for anything negative when it comes to the raiders.
He is a 38 year old fullback, in dog years the guy is dead.
the raiders have O'neal back and they really like lawton so someone was going to go at some point. They weren't going to keep 3 fullbacks and it's cheaper to keep the younger players.
I also view this a positive for O'neal who's coming off an ACL tear, if the Raiders thought O'neal wasn't ready then I'm sure they would have kept Neal around he was a good fullback in his time but old players can't play SP. Teams so he had to go.
# JSpicoli says: August 20, 2009 12:33 AM
This means Oren O'Neal is good to go, and his knee is fine. O'Neal is a beast too.
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Right on, Spicoli.
The Sports Center watchers have no idea who Oren O'Neal is, hence the dumb comments.
they cut Curly Neal---to make room for Geese Ausbie..
Denver should sign him so we could put Hillis back where he belongs!
I think it's a shame that a guy like Lorenzo Neal has only made 4 pro bowls in 16 seasons, his first coming in 2002. He has been one of the best fullbacks of his era but all too often the pro bowl pick for fullback goes to a big inside running RB. Look no further than last year on Neal's team with Le'Ron McClain making the probowl as a "fullback" when he was merely a large tailback who put up average rushing numbers (for a TB). I think the NFL needs to do a better job of categorizing fullbacks vs. tailbacks in the pro bowl ballot, but ultimately it comes down to fans being enamored with the big running back and being underexposed to the true fullbacks. Either way I hope Neal makes the HOF for his exceptional play (and number of 1,000 yard rushers he's blocked for), longevity, and toughness. On top of it all he seems like a class act. Good luck to him.
I would love to see Neal make his way back to Ten. He was the reason Eddie George had a good career.