NFL: Ex-Browns WR/KR Josh Cribbs Signs With Raiders

Josh Cribbs was passed up by a few teams this off-season due to his knee not being fully healthy. Considering the Raiders are desperate, they jumped on the opportunity to land the specialist. Cribbs isn't a huge WR threat anymore, technically he never truly was, but will Oakland give him plenty of snaps at WR? With the atrociously weak WR corps that the Raiders have, Cribbs may end up with 70+ touches in that offense. Since the only 2 decent WRs returning to the Raiders are Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, Cribbs' only other major competition will be rookie WRs such as Connor Vernon and Sam McGuffie.



Any injury leg-related is devastating for players that rely on speed and quickness to put up numbers. Cribbs may have a tough time rebounding from this and I don't expect him to be the explosive Kick Returner that he used to be. He will simply lose speed due to the knee injury. While he averaged about 27 yards per kick return and 12 yards per punt return, he hasn't had a kick return touchdown since 2009 and hasn't had a punt return touchdown since the 2011 season. In terms of offensive touches, Cribbs has only totaled 71 receptions and just over 800 yards receiving accompanied by a mere five touchdowns in the past three seasons.

I see the knee injury being far too problematic for Josh Cribbs and there is a slim chance he is a solid producer in Oakland. While he may get the snaps, that doesn't mean he will be able to produce. Reggie McKenzie only signed him to a one-year deal for a reason. This will be a make or break year for Cribbs. If he can't prove his worth in Oakland, I doubt he gets signed by another team next off-season.