Kirk

Morrison

Jacksonville was seeking an inside linebacker, and was believed to be heavily interested in Rolando McClain before Oakland surprised the world with a sensible pick and drafted him eighth overall. Morrison, 28, isn’t a true thumper, but is annually among the most productive linebackers in the league and has proven incredibly durable. He should remain a top-10 IDP LB behind Terrance Knighton and rookie Tyson Alualu in Jacksonville.

Captain Kirk has become an absolute stud in IDP leagues. Morrison worked on his cover skills during the offseason and it’s paying off in a major way.

It looks like the Raiders will avoid any surprise holdouts, aside from perhaps first-round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey. Morrison and Howard both return as every-down linebackers. “Captain” Kirk is the more desirable IDP. Oakland will likely broach extension negotiations with the youngsters in-season.

The coaching staff will still appreciate this. Morrison’s dislocated elbow was supposed to cost him two weeks and possibly threaten his starting job, but he’s doing everything he can to hold off Ricky Brown and not miss any games. Expect Morrison to return to the starting lineup before opening day.

Cable also added that Morrison was ahead of Ricky Brown in their battle for the starting middle linebacker job. Assuming Morrison gets back in time for the preseason finale, which Cable said he could, we expect Morrison to be the Week 1 starter. Brown remains a candidate to start on the strong side.

Ricky Brown won the SLB job, beating out Jon Alston. Morrison has averaged an outstanding 125 tackles per season as a four-year starter in Oakland. He’s not a traditional run-stuffing “MIKE,” but is a clear-cut LB1 in IDP leagues.

The other options were SS Gibril Wilson and WLB Thomas Howard; all three are every-down players. Morrison, who’s an extremely skilled player in coverage, had four picks last season. He needs to get tougher against the run.

The SF Chronicle suggests MLB Kirk Morrison could switch to the strong side, which would be an extremely questionable move. Morrison is Oakland’s best linebacker and Hartwell couldn’t even make the Bengals last summer. We wouldn’t take this too seriously. Hartwell will probably end up at the SAM.

Morrison wouldn’t reveal the teams, but it’s no surprise that he’s drawing interest after the Raiders applied just a third-round tender. Beat writer Mike Garafolo believes the Giants have at least had “preliminary discussions” with Morrison’s agent.

The Raiders really want someone to sign Morrison; they could’ve tendered him for almost the same price ($2.5 million) at the round-two level. Oakland has never been satisfied with Morrison’s play in the middle, despite the fact that he’s annually among the NFL’s tackle leaders. Al Davis apparently blames him for the team’s longtime inability to stop the run. Morrison figures to garner some interest as a 28-year-old former third-round pick.