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For four seasons the Raiders had a brute gooning for them on the edges of the offensive line. They also had a team-first DeAndre Washington Jersey , leave-it-all-on-the field guy. But going into year five, they decided they..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Veteran tight end Lee Smith was a hot commodity after Raiders released himNew,51commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareVeteran tight end Lee Smith was a hot commodity after Raiders released himTommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsFor four seasons the Raiders had a brute gooning for them on the edges of the offensive line. They also had a team-first, leave-it-all-on-the field guy. But going into year five, they decided they could do without that, so they cut Lee Smith in favor of rookie fourth round pick Foster Moreau.Even at 31 years old, several other teams jumped at the chance to add the 6-6, 265-pounder to their squad. Smith chose to go back to where his career began, signing a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. But he didn’t take a discount to do so. He didn’t have to because he had several suitors.Caplan went on to say there were at least six teams competing for Smith’s services.It may sound like hyperbole to describe Smith as I did. It really isn’t though. He makes a living as a goon who pushes around his defender and plays through the whistle. And as big as tight ends normally are, Smith is bigger. He is an imposing figure on the field. He makes the other also large tight ends look small standing next to him.The team-first part comes from his willingness to restructure his contract prior to the 2017 season to make most of his contract non-guaranteed with the only way he earns his money is through play time incentives. He would ultimately earn his pay, and was even signed to his $1.1 million 2019 roster bonus at the end of last season.He was also the only player to come out publicly and angrily defend Derek Carr from the allegations of a fractured relationship between Derek Carr and his offensive line. Smith defended the Raiders’ locker room dynamic, calling it a “brotherhood” and the reports “horse shit.”Whether he’s correct about that or whether you believe him or not, he was right to step up and say something. It was the right thing to say at the right time.It’s not surprise there were quite a few teams who want that presence on the field and in their locker room. More surprising is the Raiders did not.Follow @LeviDamien ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Rookie general manager Mike Mayock and coach Jon Gruden had meticulously put together a plan to rebuild the Oakland Raiders with three first-round draft picks and a couple of smart free agent signings when they suddenly got sent in a different direction last week.The Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to trade the NFL’s most prolific wide receiver for two mid-round draft picks, assuming the Raiders could come to terms on a new contract for Antonio Brown.“When we discovered we might have a chance for his services, it changed everything Jalen Richard Jersey ,” Mayock said Wednesday after the Raiders officially added Brown as their first big move of the new league year.The Raiders dealt third- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft to the Steelers and gave Brown a new three-year contract worth $50.125 million, a relatively small price to pay for a player who has averaged more than 100 catches and 1,500 yards receiving per season over the last six years.The trade ended a very messy and very public divorce between Brown and the team that helped mold him from a sixth-round pick into arguably the greatest wide receiver of his generation.“Pittsburgh will always be my family,” Brown said. “Those guys gave me a chance when I was a 21-year-old kid. People listen to the things that are being said and written. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you make people feel. I think I made people feel really great and really inspired the way they watched me go to work, the way they watched me play. … I know Steeler Nation is having a bad day today, but it’s always love.”Mayock and Gruden have admired Brown from afar during their time as broadcasters, with both calling him the hardest-working practice player they have ever seen.The 30-year-old Brown was an All-Pro four straight years from 2014-17 and is the first player ever with at least 100 catches and 1,200 yards receiving in six straight seasons. His 686 catches and 9,145 yards since 2013 are the most ever for any player in a six-year span.“He’s done everything in his power to be the best he can possibly be on and off the field,” Gruden said. “His body of work is not only impressive, but fun to watch. He’s electrifying after the catch, he’s a great competitor, he wins the 50-50 ball, he’s outstanding in short areas. You have a great imagination as a football coach when you coach a man like this. He can play split end, he can play flanker Kelechi Osemele Jersey , he can play in the slot. He can return punts and sell popcorn at halftime. We’re excited about this guy.”Brown is one of several additions the Raiders have made to start the new league year. They agreed to a four-year, $66 million deal with tackle Trent Brown to bolster the line and a four-year, $42 million contract with safety Lamarcus Joyner during the negotiating period.Brown, a former seventh-round pick, got the richest deal ever for an offensive lineman after helping New England win the Super Bowl after being traded from San Francisco.“What took my game to the next level was just going to an organization who believed in me,” Brown said. “A locker room full of guys who just believed in each other, pushed each other. We worked hard as a team every day. No egos. Just confidence shot through the roof. I’ve kind of felt disrespected about the trade and I wanted to prove everybody wrong.”They also added another receiver Wednesday, signing former Chargers deep threat Tyrell Williams to a four-year deal worth a reported $44 million.Williams had 41 catches for 643 yards and five touchdowns last season. He has averaged 16.3 yards per catch for his career, the fifth-highest mark among players with at least 100 catches since he entered as an undrafted free agent out of Western Oregon in 2015.The additions of Antonio Brown and Williams on the outside and a top pass blocker in Trent Brown should help quarterback Derek Carr regain the form he had when he was one of the better quarterbacks in the league in 2016 before regressing the past two years.Carr and Brown have already started working out together at a nearby park and are excited to see what they can do on the field.“It’s refreshing,” said Brown, who clashed with Ben Roethlisberger during the end of his time in Pittsburgh. “I think he’s hungry for success, hungry to turn the organization around, hungry to get on the winning side of things. I’m just hungry for the same things.”The Raiders also completed a trade that sent guard Kelechi Osemele and a sixth-round pick to the Jets for a fifth-round pick.