Around the NFL

Raiders to sign Rodney Hudson to 5-year, $44.5M deal

Published: Mar 09, 2015 at 02:21 AM

Marc Sessler

After swinging and missing on a handful of free-agent luminaries, the Oakland Raiders have landed their center of the future.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the team is expected to sign Rodney Hudson to a five-year deal worth $44.5 million, per a source informed of the situation.

The contract will pay the former Kansas City Chiefs pivot more on average per season than Pro Bowl centers Alex Mack and Maurkice Pouncey. It's a lot of cash, but Hudson looms as a better solution than Stefen Wisniewski.

The fifth-year lineman showed well as a run-blocker and pass-protector last season, starting all 16 games for the Chiefs, who selected Hudson in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Oakland was expected to make waves in free agency as a potential deep-pockets landing spot for defensive behemoth Ndamukong Suh and premier pass-catchers Julius Thomas and Randall Cobb. Cobb is staying in Green Bay, while Suh and Thomas are expected to land elsewhere when the open market launches on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

Hudson won't sell tickets like Suh, but he helps fill an overt need for a Raiders team with plenty of gaps to plug.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down the Brandon Marshall trade and plays another game of "Go Get My Lunch." Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.

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