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Bench Warmer
Rhodes on Friday morning agreed with the Oakland Raiders on a two-year contract that can be worth as much as $7.5 million, league sources confirmed for ESPN.com. Rhodes had generated considerable interest as an unrestricted free agent and made several visits, but met with Oakland officials earlier this week and was sold on the opportunity there.
The six-year veteran will serve as an insurance policy for the Raiders, in the event incumbent starter LaMont Jordan does not bounce back from the medial collateral ligament injury that limited him to nine games in 2006. More likely, however, the two will split the ball-carrying duties in the Oakland backfield.
Jordan earlier this week reworked his contract, reducing a roster bonus that was due him, to remain with the Raiders. After rushing for 1,025 yards in 2005, his first season in Oakland after four years with the New York Jets, Jordan slumped to 434 yards in 2006.
Rhodes, 28, played six seasons in Indianapolis, appearing in 71 games and starting in 27 contests. The former Midwestern State (Texas) standout made the Colts' roster as an undrafted college free agent in 2001, then further beat the odds by rushing for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, when he replaced an injured Edgerrin James.
He carried 550 times for 2,274 yards and 19 touchdowns in six seasons and added 90 receptions for 649 yards and one touchdown.
Last year, in the Colts' Super Bowl season, Rhodes started all 16 regular-season games before rookie Joseph Addai replaced him in the lineup at the outset of the playoffs. But Rhodes still played a significant role in the postseason and, in the Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears, he rushed for a game-high 113 yards.
Rhodes still faces a drunken-driving charge in Indiana, where police said he was pulled over early the morning of Feb. 20 driving a truck 81 mph in a 55-mph zone on an Indianapolis-area interstate.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The six-year veteran will serve as an insurance policy for the Raiders, in the event incumbent starter LaMont Jordan does not bounce back from the medial collateral ligament injury that limited him to nine games in 2006. More likely, however, the two will split the ball-carrying duties in the Oakland backfield.
Jordan earlier this week reworked his contract, reducing a roster bonus that was due him, to remain with the Raiders. After rushing for 1,025 yards in 2005, his first season in Oakland after four years with the New York Jets, Jordan slumped to 434 yards in 2006.
Rhodes, 28, played six seasons in Indianapolis, appearing in 71 games and starting in 27 contests. The former Midwestern State (Texas) standout made the Colts' roster as an undrafted college free agent in 2001, then further beat the odds by rushing for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, when he replaced an injured Edgerrin James.
He carried 550 times for 2,274 yards and 19 touchdowns in six seasons and added 90 receptions for 649 yards and one touchdown.
Last year, in the Colts' Super Bowl season, Rhodes started all 16 regular-season games before rookie Joseph Addai replaced him in the lineup at the outset of the playoffs. But Rhodes still played a significant role in the postseason and, in the Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears, he rushed for a game-high 113 yards.
Rhodes still faces a drunken-driving charge in Indiana, where police said he was pulled over early the morning of Feb. 20 driving a truck 81 mph in a 55-mph zone on an Indianapolis-area interstate.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
