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 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 .
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.
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