"The news came in the form of a single sentence on the club's Twitter account but spoke volumes about how the Raiders intend to go about business in the post-Al Davis era:

"The Raiders have released cornerback Stanford Routt.''

In the first major personnel move with Reggie McKenzie as general manager and Dennis Allen as coach, the cornerback Davis chose over Nnamdi Asomugha was sent packing Thursday despite the team's deep investment in him.

Routt, 28, was signed last offseason to a three-year, $31.5 million contract extension -- a deal that at the time made him the third-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. The value of the deal grew to five years and $54.5 million with a July restructuring that reportedly included $20 million guaranteed. According to multiple reports, Routt's $5 million salary in 2012 -- not an exorbitant sum for a starting cornerback -- also would have been guaranteed had he been on the roster Friday.

The deal was a head-scratcher from the beginning. Routt had lost his job two seasons earlier to Chris Johnson, and Davis chose to retain him while making no effort to re-sign Asomugha, a perennial Pro Bowl performer.

Routt's performance in 2011 fell considerably short of expectations. He allowed nine touchdown passes and led the NFL in penalties with 17, according to ProFootballFocus. His four interceptions ranked second on the team to Matt Giordano."