Raiders report: Starter on offense looking forward to huge offseason
It’s about to be one of the most important offseasons of Jermaine Eluemunor’s professional career.
The Raiders offensive tackle has some personal business to attend to first.
“Last offseason, I got married,” Eluemunor said Sunday. “This offseason, we’re having a kid. It’s a blessing for sure.”
Eluemunor and his wife Christina are expecting the birth of their daughter in the next few days. He’s excited to be a first-time father.
Then Eluemunor will turn his attention to football. He’s a free agent hitting the market at a good time.
Eluemunor was a steady starter throughout the season. He finished as the 35th-ranked offensive tackle in the NFL, according to the website Pro Football Focus. The 29-year-old thrived as a run blocker in particular and feels he is just starting to hit his stride.
“I know my worth,” Eluemunor said. “If it was up to me, I’d stay here. But I know it’s a business and things will happen the way they’re meant to happen. God has a plan for everything. I’m just going to go into the offseason and enjoy being a first-time father and go from there.”
Eluemunor’s ideal scenario would be staying with the Raiders on a fair contract. He wants to continue to play for interim coach Antonio Pierce, who he credits with turning around his mental approach to the game.
“Personally, it was the best year of my career,” Eluemunor said. “I think my season, no offense to anyone, but it really started when (Pierce) got hired. I was going through a lot mentally, but he came in and instilled that confidence that kind of changed everything for me. It kind of changed my career, to be honest with you. Just to go out there every week feeling like an All-Pro and one of the best right tackles in the NFL and prove that week-in and week-out.”
Eluemunor said he knows he can’t say yet he’s one of the best offensive linemen in the league, but he believes he can put himself into the conversation next year. His confidence has allowed him not to obsess over his contract situation
“It’s been on my mind a little bit, but it’s been on my mind less this year than last year,” Eluemunor said. “Last year was my first year starting and I thought about it a lot. But this year, I just tried to go out there and ball knowing the other stuff will take care of itself. I don’t control what happens in the offseason. I control what happens with my play during the season so I do everything I can to run block and pass block and do my job to the best of my ability.”
Clean living
The Raiders were not called for a penalty in Sunday’s 27-14 win against the Broncos. It was the second time this season they went an entire game without being flagged.
The Raiders finished the season with 75 penalties, the fewest in the NFL. They’ve never been at the bottom of the league leaderboard before.
“When you look at the Raiders history, you talk about the penalties and ejections and rules being changed because of what we did here,” Pierce said.
Pierce said he and his staff stressed accountability and playing the game the right way. It worked.
“That’s something I really told our staff and players is I wanted to make sure we hit that goal,” Pierce said. “That’s a credit to our staff and players really buying in.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.