ALAMEDA – The Raiders spent freely to retain players and lure free agents to Oakland.
Along the way, one of the Raiders' most valuable defensive players became one of their bargains.
The Raiders have not promised to boost defensive end Derrick Burgess' salary to the going rate for two-time Pro Bowl defensive ends, even as lesser lights at his position cash in.
But would the Raiders restructure his deal?
"Nah," he said. "That wasn't one of the things we really talked about. I only worry about the (stuff) I can control, ya dig?"
Burgess, 29, said former personnel executive Mike Lombardi last year promised a new deal to Burgess, coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl following the 2006 season.
But Lombardi was fired, and Burgess never got a new contract to supercede the five-year, $17.5 million deal – with $6 million guaranteed – he signed in 2005. Sure, that's not the veteran's minimum, but some players would have complained anyway.
Burgess could have joined the list of NFL players publicly demanding a trade directly (see Chad Johnson the last few months) or indirectly (Miami's Jason Taylor).
Burgess hasn't participated in voluntary workouts, opting to work out at Mississippi, where he played college football. That doesn't concern the Raiders, though, since Burgess never works out in California during the offseason.
"Spend time with my family and everything," Burgess said. "Ain't none of my folks out here."
He showed up for this week's mandatory minicamp in shape and displayed the quickness that makes him difficult to block.
If his contract is bothering him, you wouldn't know.
"Derrick has handled himself with great class," said Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, acknowledging that several players around the league and on the Raiders earn more than Burgess.
The Raiders gave Tommy Kelly the richest deal for a defensive tackle in league history: seven years for $50.5 million with $18.125 million guaranteed. The team retained defensive tackle Terdell Sands last year with a four-year, $17 million deal that guaranteed $4 million.
And when the team traded for defensive tackle Gerard Warren, the Raiders inherited Warren's contract from 2006, which was for six years and $36 million with $10 million guaranteed. Burgess had eight sacks in 14 games last season while suffering from a calf injury.
That tied Chris Clemons for the team lead last season. Clemons subsequently signed as a free agent with Philadelphia in a five-year deal reportedly worth up to $18.5 million.
Even if Burgess were to raise a fuss, though, the Raiders don't seem inclined to offer a new deal until 2009 at the earliest.
"(Burgess is) a Pro Bowl player that has played great here in the past, battled through injuries last year to get back on the field," Kiffin said, pointing to the two years remaining on his contract. "It's one of those situations."
Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
