Raiders Obtain Gruber in Trade : Pro football: Draft choices sent to Tampa Bay in exchange for offensive tackle, but deal still pending NFL approval.

The Raiders obtained offensive tackle Paul Gruber from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tuesday in exchange for draft choices.

Or did they?

League officials have held off a decision on approving the trade until approximately 9 PDT this morning.

It is believed the deal is for two draft choices in separate years.

The problem, according to sources close to the negotiations, was the failure to finalize the deal by Tuesday’s 1 p.m. trading deadline.

According to one source, the Raiders signed Gruber to a temporary contract by 1 p.m. for the remaining 10 games of this season just to satisfy NFL officials.

But for final approval to be given, the full multiyear contract must be presented to the league by this morning.

Steve Ortmayer, the Raiders’ director of football operations, held off any comment until this morning.

The Buccaneers issued the following statement: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Raiders were notified this evening that the NFL has taken under advisement a ruling on whether to approve a trade between the two teams involving offensive tackle Paul Gruber. While the terms of the trade between the two teams were agreed upon, the NFL continues to review all conditions of the trade.”

Gruber, a 6 feet 5 and 290 pounds, is known for his durability. In five NFL seasons since he left Wisconsin, he had not only never missed a game, he had never missed a snap, taking his spot on the line for 4,850 consecutive offensive plays.

But all that came to an end this season when Gruber failed to report.

With his contract up, Gruber had been designated a franchise player by the Buccaneers, denying him free agency, but guaranteeing him a salary at least equal to the average of the top five at his position.

Gruber, who made $700,000 last season, turned down an offer from Tampa Bay that would have paid him $2 million this season.

The Buccaneer who has missed Gruber the most this season is running back Reggie Cobb. After rushing for 1,171 yards and scoring nine touchdowns last season, he has rushed for 236 yards and scored only one touchdown in five games this season. After averaging 3.8 yards a carry last year, Cobb is averaging 2.8 this year.

The Buccaneers had shopped Gruber in recent weeks. The Cleveland Browns were interested, but Tampa Bay was reportedly asking for three draft choices, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Gruber made it plain there were only three clubs he was interested in: the Raiders, the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers.

The biggest roadblock to any deal was the lack of a contract. Gruber was in limbo. As afranchise player, he couldn’t become a free agent. But without a contract, he couldn’t be traded.

Negotiations with the Raiders reportedly didn’t heat up until about an hour before the deadline.

Faced with coming to terms by 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Raiders reportedly tossed out enough of an offer to make a trade legal.

But something more substantial must be hammered out early today to make it official.