The Left Tackle position is a key position for any offensive line in any football team. Quarterback Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders is top notch in the league, and the Silver and Black want to make sure he is well protected. Donald Penn has been doing a super job at protecting Carr's blind side in the last two years. The 34-year-old offensive lineman has been so good at his job that he's been ranked as a top ten left tackle by the NFL.
Well, this year at the start of NFL training camp, Penn has been Holding Out, and the issue tends to be money.
After a few days of not showing up to practice, the left tackle has been raising tension in sports media. The problem with this holdout is that Penn is disrupting the offensive line chemistry that the Raiders have going with Penn complaining about money.
The Money Issue
Since Donald Penn is ranked in the top ten in the left tackle department, he expects the pay to be better. At least, that is what the problem seems to be. The reason the media speculates this reason to this holdout on the Raiders by Penn is due to the fact that he is the 11th highest paid left tackle in the league right now.
It is also believed that Penn is also doing this because he has been doing well at this position for the Raiders, making him a very important player for the offensive squad.
In fact, Penn is not wrong in that aspect, especially when the Raiders are putting a lot of love on their rising quarterback Derek Carr. Of course, this is seen as just leverage to get more money.
Money is always the reason and some analyst believe that the Raiders will make Penn happy by adding some incentives to a contract that was signed 15 months ago.
In the end, this is rich people's problems. As for the Silver and Black, they will comply and have to move on with Penn since the guy has proven to be the man at that position.
Raiders Should Be Upset
The Oakland Raiders should be upset at Donald Penn's move. See, the Raiders have made all the right moves the last few years and are now contenders to compete for the Super Bowl.
So far, just about everything has been running smoothly, but Penn's situation came out of nowhere and made some bad waves. Also, a contract is already in place and it was made 15 moths ago.
One reason that many think the Raiders are staying cool is due to the fact that General Manager Reggie McKenzie has not fined Penn for not showing up to practice. A player can be fined up to $40,000 a day for not showing up to practice, and Penn has already skipped more than a few. So far, no word of Penn being fined by General Manager McKenzie. So, in the end, the Raiders are acting very cool instead of acting upset. This is a sign that both will most likely settle and get things going smoothly again for the team.
