He’s the face of the franchise. He’s not just a team leader on defense, but a leader to all the players in the locker room. He represents his team with pride on countless TV shows, radio interviews, and at charity events. He does as much, if not more off the field for his community as he does on the field for his team and his fan base.
He will have countless opportunities to pursue acting, politics, broadcasting, or anything else he wants to put his mind to after his career is over. He is a Cal graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Corporate Finance. He is a winner of countless awards including NFL Man of the Year, and most recently, the winner of the Jefferson Award for his public service in his community. He has never complained about being a Raider despite never having been part of a winning season since being drafted. His name is Nnamdi Asomugha.
You would be hard pressed to find a Raider fan, or any person for that matter, that isn’t fond of Nnamdi for what he does on and off the field. Despite all this, during the offseason there were many rumors that Nnamdi would be traded because of his huge contract.
I’ve heard a number of Raider fans and writers saying we should trade Nnamdi this year because we can’t afford to pick up the option to keep him next year or that if we don’t get some compensation for him this year, we will get nothing for him if and when he leaves.
My response to all this is not so fast. I often tell people to be careful what you wish for. This stems from my memory of Raider fans chanting “Tui! Tui!” during Rich Gannon’s last two years. I also feel sick when I think about a time where some fans went as far as to cheer when QB Josh McCown got hurt because they wanted to see Russell play. Look how both of those turn out.
Nnamdi is invaluable to this Raiders team and organization. There is no fair compensation any team will give the Raiders for Nnamdi. I say fair because if the Colts want to send us Peyton Manning plus their entire draft for the next ten years, then of course you would have to make that trade.
Let’s start with on the field. Almost every diva receiver in the league has finally had a chance to play Nnamdi by now. Most of them spend the week talking about how they’re finally going to be the guy who embarrasses Nnamdi, and have a big game against him. Almost all of them have 0 to 1 catches against Nnamdi (they might have more against other CBs) and after the game they admit he’s the best in the league. Nnamdi’s standard of play has raised the bar so high, I remember him giving up a single catch against the Chargers in a game last season and reporters asking him why he had a “bad” game. Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis, and whoever else is considered an elite CB; none of them come even close to that. Nnamdi also plays in a Raiders scheme which leaves their CBs in man coverage with little to no safety help every game. No other corners not wearing a Raider uniform come even close to that. That being said, how does anyone expect the Raiders to instantly fill that void once Nnamdi is traded?
Stanford Routt is decent on the outside but is mediocre at best covering the slot. Chris Johnson is decent as well but if both of them are starting you have either rookie CBs or journeyman covering all the other receivers. What happens when one of them gets injured?
Listen to how Nnamdi talks to players when he’s mic’d up during this Jets game last season. Granted it was a blow out loss, but he’s clearly a leader on the team.
Now for off the field stuff. The Raiders have been a media punching bag during the last seven years of losing. In many of the interviews Nnamdi takes a part in, the other analysts will crack jokes about the Raiders and ask him if he wouldn’t rather be playing for a team that is playoff bound. Every single time, Nnamdi not only takes the high road, but he talks about being a Raider with pride. This gives other free agents and players around the league a chance to see someone who thinks being associated with the Raiders is a good thing, when most people treat the organization like it’s toxic waste.
Nnamdi also instills work ethic and the importance of being active in the community to some of the younger players on the team. Nnamdi often talks about how much Rod Woodson helped him become a true professional, and now he’s had the chance to turn around and have the save effect on his peers. It’s no mistake that Tyvon Branch and Michael Huff both had breakout years last year. As Nnamdi has become more of a leader, it’s helped his surrounding players in the secondary become better as well.
To those saying that’s all fine and dandy but he probably will be gone next year or the year after when his contract is up, I beg to differ. I think if the Raiders show improvement, or make the playoffs this year or next year, Nnamdi will resign with the Raiders. He’s lived in California his entire life and spent his whole adult life in northern California as he attended Cal and was drafted by the Raiders. He has big ties to this community and I truly believe he wants to remain a Raider. The only reason he even thinks about leaving is if he feels like the Raiders are stuck in a hopeless situation.
Who could blame him if the Raiders go on to extend their streak of futility from 7 to 9 years. Nnamdi works extremely hard to prepare for games each Sunday, but he must get frustrated when you have people like JaMarcus Russell single handedly losing games from lack of effort.
Some would argue that the Raiders might not opt to keep him much longer because eventually he will begin to lack the speed the Raiders like their corners to have due to age. Since Nnamdi was a safety in college, why not switch him back to free safety and allow him to finish a hall of fame career as a Raider? Nnamdi would be smart enough to make the switch back, and he’s already a great tackler to go along with his great coverage skills.
In the end, the choice to keep him or not isn’t really a choice at all. Let’s just hope the Raiders give Nnamdi enough hope to be on board with finishing his stellar career here in Oakland as a Raider.
