The Oakland Raiders officially franchised Tyvon Branch earlier today. Branch was the team’s leading tackler last season and was a natural candidate for being franchised after his great season which saw him lead the team in tackles the past two years. Branch has also improved his safety coverage instincts, as the passing offense has greatly declined when footballs are thrown in his direction in comparison to his 2010 statistics. Branch’s contract is worth around $6.2 million for 2012 and should ensure he’s happy to stay in Oakland for quite some time.
The Raiders have a lot of cap space to dump, which means you could see a lot of Raiders in the next couple of days (including Michael Bush) start testing the free agent waters and look for other teams to sign with for better deals. Oakland has to be happy to be keeping Branch around for the near future though.
To discuss the Branch signing with Raiders fans, go to Silver and Black Pride.