INDIANAPOLIS -- The Oakland Raiders haven't given up on keeping Darren McFadden around for the long haul.
NFL Media's Gil Brandt tweeted Thursday that the team plans to huddle with the player's agent Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine to discuss re-signing the running back to a new contract.
It's surprising only because we fully expect McFadden to land elsewhere on the heels of an injury-marred, six-year run with the Raiders. Starting just 19 games over the past two seasons, the 26-year-old runner has cratered with back-to-back seasons that saw him rush for just 3.3 yards per carry.
McFadden's finest year as a pro came in 2011, when he rumbled for 5.4 yards per attempt under then-Raiders coach Hue Jackson, who employed a downhill, run-heavy scheme that saw Oakland jump out to a 7-4 start before melting down the stretch.
With Jackson now embedded with the Bengals as the team's new offensive play-caller, Cincinnati looms as a logical landing spot for McFadden. When healthy, he's a more intriguing runner than BenJarvus Green-Ellis and would make for a tantalizing duo with Giovani Bernard -- that is, if he can stay out of the trainers' room.
Either way, don't expect McFadden to be back with the Raiders.
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