Kerry Collins

will bite the bullet and pay quarterback Kerry Collins the $2.5 million roster bonus that is due him in March, an indication that he will be the starter for the 2006 campaign. Considering the alternatives, they are making the right decision if they hope to improve on this past season's 4-12 mark. The only other signal-callers on the roster, Marques Tuiasasopo and Andrew Walter, are not quite ready to be productive starters in the NFL. When Raiders owner Al Davis demanded to former coach Norv Turner that Collins be benched in week 14 against the New York Jets in favor of Tuiasasopo, the five-year pro out of Washington looked more like a deer in headlights than a better alternative.It remains to be seen if Walter can adequately carry the torch and be the next great quarterback after having a great college career at Arizona State, but just ask the San Francisco 49ers Alex Smith how hard it is to make the jump from Division 1-A college football to the National Football League. Walter saw zero reps in the 2005 regular season, and it would be nearly impossible for him to make a splash or to even avoid the wrath of Randy Moss and his massive attitude (Collins and Moss' former Minnesota Vikings teammate Daunte Culpepper could tell him all about that.)With Walter waiting in the wings, it also makes no sense for the to take a quarterback with their first or second round draft picks in April. Other than Ben Roethlisberger, rookies that line up under center simply don't win right away. The team has many holes in other areas, especially defense, so using a high pick on another quarterback would be foolish. Many in Raider Nation would like to see Davis make a play for the aforementioned Culpepper, but this would be a risky proposition at best considering the catastrophic injury he suffered this past year. Moss stated that he'd welcome Culpepper with open arms, but how long would that honeymoon last? New Vikings coach Brad Childress has already come out and expressed that Culpepper is going to be his number one guy anyway. A few others guys like Jon Kitna, Brian Griese, and Aaron Brooks, should be available, but Collins has had more success than any of those guys. His numbers this past year were among the top 10 in the league, which is especially impressive considering the teams problems along the offensive line, lack of running game, and injuries to receivers Moss and Jerry Porter. Collins has acknowledged that he's willing to restructure his contract, but won't accept a huge pay cut, which is reasonable considering he's 33 and won't have too many more years of earning power. With three head coaching changes in four years, the last thing the team needs is instability at the quarterback position as well.