Report: Raiders declining fifth-year option on Karl Joseph

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on May 2, 2019, 11:50 PM EDT
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Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders appear to have had a change of heart.

After Gruden said in March that they intended to pick up the fifth-year option on 2016 first-round safety Karl Joseph, the Raiders now appear set to go a different direction.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Raiders will decline the option on Joseph, which will allow him to become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season. The option would have earmarked approximately $6.5 million in salary for the 2020 season that was guaranteed for injury only.

Joseph re-established himself on the Raiders’ defense after the team’s bye last year. He finished the season with 48 tackles and two sacks with an interception.

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14 responses to “Report: Raiders declining fifth-year option on Karl Joseph”

  5. Probably has something to do with the fact that he couldn’t ever stay healthy enough to get anything going. By the time he was healthy the offense changed again.

  6. Ouch!
    I really liked this pick, he plays hard and lays wood on them RBs. It’s sad to see him go, if that ends up happening….
    RAIDER NATION!

  7. Awesome run stuffer and tackler but a liability in coverage.

    The Raiders have upgraded through the draft

    All the best to Joseph.

  8. He came on nicely the last 8 games. Seems like he could coexist in that defensive backfield with Joyner and Abram. He could move to FS, especially in sub packages where it seems like they want Joyner in the slot.

    I’m kind of surprised at this move but it creates an instant contract year, either he balls out and earns himself more than that 6.7 he would have got (still unlikely) or we can move on if he doesn’t.

    Another 2016 1st rounder fails to live up to expectations though.

  9. slick50kc says:
    May 3, 2019 at 1:22 am
    Another first round bust. It’s uncanny.

    You mean like these Chief first round busts?
    Jonathan Baldwin
    Percy Snow
    Victor Riley
    Sylvester Morris
    Tyson Jackson
    Trezzelle Jenkins
    Ryan Sims

    This is why they bow out every year and haven’t won since 1970, enjoy

  11. I see a lot of teams aren’t picking up the options on their 2016 draft picks, but I’m sure many of the teams will be re-signing their guys. This move doesn’t mean they don’t want him back. A lot can happen in the next year and the Raiders probably just don’t want to have their hands tied. The entire defense is going to be much different this year, plus they still have 2 first round picks next year. They brought in 3 new DB’s that will be playing a lot. I think Joseph fits in well with this group.

  12. It’s a simple question. Mayock and Gruden had to ask themselves is Joseph the 6th best strong safety in the NFL. Because his 2020 salary would rank him as the 6th highest paid strong safety in the league for this year.

  13. Hey hey hey Joseph played really well 2nd half. Let’s see how he comes out playing this year. Hopefully hungry since we signed Joyner and drafted that S

  14. Have to say Conley and Joseph finished the season strong. They struggled early in the season, but with one year playing under Guenther they should improve even more.

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