Monday, with just one week before the start of free agency, the Raiders made the somewhat inevitable move of releasing linebacker Tahir Whitehead. He was heading into the third season of a three-year deal he signed with the team prior to the 2018 season and was scheduled to make $7.3 million this season.
His release comes with just over $1 million in dead money, saving the Raiders $6.25 million against the 2020 salary cap.
With an expected cap amount of $200 million this season, the Raiders now have an estimated $56.59 million in cap space. They were 14th in cap space according to figures compiled by Overthecap.com. Here’s that list prior to the Whitehead release:
Dolphins $88,075,174
Colts $86,162,964
Bills $82,280,713
Buccaneers $79,894,844
Cowboys $76,787,123
Giants $73,991,301
Browns $61,964,940
Texans $61,286,117
Redskins $61,078,737
Broncos $57,425,714
Chargers $56,249,620
Titans $50,408,536
Raiders $50,340,596
This move has them jump the Titans and Chargers to the 11th spot, less than one million behind the Broncos.
Whitehead was step one in my recent ‘Ten moves that would make for a perfect Raiders free agency‘. Step two would be the release of wide receiver Zay Jones, a move that would save the Raiders $1.4 million and move them squarely ahead of the Broncos for the 10th most cap space in the NFL.