The Raiders gave Kamerion Wimbley their exclusive franchise tag a year ago and then negotiated a contract that dropped his salary cap number to $1.6 million. The contract was reported as worth $48 million dollars with a whopping $29 million in guaranteed money. However, Wimbley's deal apparently wasn't anything approaching $29 million in guaranteed money. The Raiders can get out of it by cutting him by March 17 and paying him $6.5 million.

Former Raiders coach Hue Jackson has been hired as an assistant with the Bengals. On the staff with Cincinnati from 2004-06, Jackson will help with the secondary and special teams, and work closely with the position coaches for both units. Jackson was fired after the Raiders missed the AFC playoffs with an 8-8 record last season. "I relied on Hue greatly when he was with us, and his success overall in the NFL, including being selected for a head coaching position, is well documented," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "He has expertise in all aspects of the game, and we are fortunate to have obtained his services."

The Raiders have signed former Packers defensive back Brandon Underwood. Green Bay released Underwood in September following his arrest related to a physical altercation with his wife. Underwood, who also was slowed by a knee injury during last year's training camp, is the first former Packer to head to Oakland under new general manager Reggie McKenzie, who spent 18 years in Green Bay.

The Raiders and longtime senior executive John Herrera mutually parted ways this week, a league source told NFL Network's Michael Lombardi on Thursday. Herrera famously had a run-in with Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News during the 2008 season.

The Raiders can no longer save themselves money by cutting ties with defender Richard Seymour. His $15 million salary for 2012 became fully guaranteed a day or two ago, according to a report. Oakland would have only had to pay him $7.5 million if he had been released before then.

The Raiders have released cornerback Stanford Routt less than one year after signing him to a blockbuster contract. The move Thursday is the first major personnel change the Raiders have made since GM Reggie McKenzie and new head coach Dennis Allen took over last month.

Former Raiders offensive coordinator Al Saunders will remain on the team's staff as a senior offensive assistant. Saunders was offensive coordinator under Hue Jackson last season. Oakland had previously hired Greg Knapp to be offensive coordinator even though Saunders was still under contract.

The Raiders have hired Jason Tarver from Stanford to lead their defense. Tarver helped shape one of the Pac-12's top defenses while serving as co-defensive coordinator and overseeing the linebackers under rookie head coach David Shaw last season. He had spent the previous decade as a 49ers assistant, including the final six seasons (2005-2010) coaching the outside linebackers.

Stanford co-defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is under consideration to be the defensive coordinator of the Raiders, a person familiar with his candidacy confirmed Saturday. Tarver, 37, worked one year as the co-defensive coordinator under David Shaw after working for the 49ers from 2001 through 2010 as an offensive assistant, a running backs coach and an inside linebackers coach.

The Raiders have hired Steve Hoffman as special teams coordinator. He held the same position with the Chiefs the past three years.