Juron Criner – Photo by Raiders Media Relations

One word: finally. Just when myself and the Raider Nation thought that we were going to have a holdout on our hands, rookie Juron Criner agrees to terms with the team. The news broke earlier this afternoon, making this WR out of Arizona the sixth and final rookie of the Raiders’ 2012 draft class to sign on. Quite an accomplishment for first-year GM, Reggie McKenzie, to have all six signed in time for camp!

There were rumours swirling before this weekend that Criner’s signing bonus came down to a $14,000 difference. Immediately fans (including myself) piped up, suggesting that he was a “diva” and wondering how he could hold out when he hasn’t even played a single game yet. The first idea that came to my mind was now that the Raiders had sent WR Louis Murphy packing to the east coast, Criner probably figured he had the upper hand on front office. He has been all the rave amongst Oakland sports media since OTAs earlier in the summer, and I think he knows that the press has pumped him up to be one of the steals of the draft.

I guess a lot of Raider fans on Twitter were giving Criner some grief over the weekend, probably sharing my same sentiment. Criner tweeted this morning, a few hours before the signing leaked onto the Internet:

» Continue reading “Remaining Rookies Sign, Head To Camp”