Kicker Janikowski’s career with Raiders up after 18 seasons
ALAMEDA » Eighteen years after the Raiders made kicker Sebastian Janikowski a surprise firstround draft pick, his career in Oakland has come to an end.
The team told Janikowski this week that he won’t be brought back when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next month.
“The Raider Nation salutes Sebastian Janikowski as the sun sets on his illustrious career with the Oakland Raiders,” owner Mark Davis said in a statement Thursday. “He joined the team as a surprise first-round pick in the 2000 Draft and finishes his time in Oakland as one of the greatest or perhaps the greatest kicker in pro football history. His powerful left leg produced an NFL-record 55 field goals of 50-or-more yards. The motto ‘Once a Raider, Always a Raider’ has never been more true as his 18-year career makes him the longest-tenured player in Raiders history.”
Davis’ father, Al, made the stunning decision in 2000 to take Janikowski with the 17th overall pick. The only other kicker taken in the first round since the start of the common draft era in 1967 was Steve Little, who went 15th to the Cardinals in 1978.
Janikowski’s successful career made him the Raiders all-time leader in games played (268) and points scored (1,799). His 55 field goals from at least 50 yards are the most in NFL history. The only other player from the 2000 draft still on his original team is Tom Brady, who was picked 199th by New England.
Janikowski, who turns 40 on March 2, missed all of last season with a back injury. His agent, Paul Healy, said in an email that Janikowski is too young to retire.
Bengals QB McCarron wins grievance, will be free agent
CINCINNATI » AJ McCarron won his grievance against the Bengals and will become an unrestricted free agent next month, making him one of the more attractive quarterbacks on the market.
McCarron challenged the Bengals’ decision to put him on a nonfootball injury list as a rookie in 2014, when the fifth-round pick had a sore passing shoulder. The move meant that the season wouldn’t count toward free agency and McCarron would have to stick around as Andy Dalton’s backup for one more year in 2018.
Instead, an independent arbitrator ruled in McCarron’s favor on Thursday, a decision announced by the NFL players’ association.
Giants’ coaching staff has 3 veteran coordinators
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. » Three experienced coordinators, including two with ties to new general manager Dave Gettleman, have been added to Pat Shurmur’s coaching staff with the New York Giants.
Mike Shula will be the offensive coordinator. James Bettcher is the defensive coordinator, while Thomas McGaughey will lead the special teams. Shula and McGaughey worked with Gettleman in Carolina. Both were fired after last season, having served the past five and two years, respectively, as coordinators.