When guard Mike Brisiel signed with the Raiders as a free agent before last season, his arrival was seen as part of the team’s commitment to the zone blocking system favored by new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.
Knapp lasted just one frustrating year, however, and his zone blocking system has been thrown out along with him. That left Brisiel and his $4.35 million salary in a somewhat precarious position as the team started working their way toward better position under the cap this offseason.
Brisiel has worked out a way to stick with the team, however. Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times reports that he has agreed to a restructure that slashes his base salary to $1.35 million in 2013. Corkran reports a saving of $3 million under the cap, which suggests that it is a straight pay cut since the cap number wouldn’t go down by that much if they had converted his salary to a bonus and spread the hit over the three years left on his deal.
Given Brisiel’s perceived better fit for an offense that the Raiders are no longer running, that would make sense as a way for him to hold onto a job with the team while also giving the Raiders a body to throw into the mix in the fight for jobs on the offensive line.