Al Davis would be so proud.
The Las Vegas Raiders fought the NFL and won.
Josh Dubow of the Associated Press reported that the NFL returned a sixth-round pick back to the franchise. The league took the pick away as part of a punishment for repeated coronavirus guideline infractions last season. The pick is No. 200 overall.
#Raiders have been given back the 6th round pick they had previously been docked by NFL for COVID violations. They have pick 200
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) March 19, 2021
The Raiders now have eight choices in the April 29-May 1 draft. They’ve made several trades.
Here is the complete Las Vegas pick list (until they make more trades) per Dubow:
Here are #Raiders picks in 2021 draft per NFL:
1st round: 17
2nd: 48
3rd: 79 (from Ari for Hudson) and 80
4th: 121
5th: 162 (from Mia in McMillan trade) and 167 (from Sea for Jackson). Raiders dealt 161 to Bills for Zay Jones
6th: 200
7th: (traded to Wash in Sharpe deal) https://t.co/9yEJqVZ3EK— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) March 20, 2021
Of course, getting the No. 200 draft pick back won’t change the Raiders’ draft, yet they have to be thrilled to get it returned. Every pick counts and has its own relative firepower.
So, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock surely celebrated the news of its return.
The fact that the Raiders won the appeal is somewhat of a surprise in itself. The NFL takes the coronavirus guidelines very seriously. So the Raiders, who were also fined a a large amount for breaking protocol, must have presented a compelling case to actually win the appeal.