In 2020, the Raiders went big in free agency. They added the likes of Cory Littleton, Maliek Collins, Marcus Mariota, Carl Nassib, Nick Kwiatkoski, Jason Witten, Jeff Heath, and Nelson Agholor. While big 2019 investments Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams, and Lamarcus Joyner were on the second season of their big contracts.
All of these investments left little on the table by the end of the 2020 season. How little? Well among the least amount of cap carryover in the NFL.
A look at the salary cap carryover for 2021: pic.twitter.com/Q5JELBem2u
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 19, 2021
With just $3.6 million in cap money carrying over to their 2021 cap, the Raiders are just below the Bills ($3.8M) and only five teams have less — The Ravens ($587K), Seahawks (956K), Falcons ($1.8M), 49ers ($1.9M) and Titans ($2.3M).
The Bills, Ravens, Seahawks, and Titans made good use of that money they spent as all three had at least 11 wins and made the playoffs. The Raiders (8-8), 49ers (6-10) and Falcons (4-12) did not. Making them the only teams in the bottom seven without a winning record and a playoff berth.
The most cap carryover belongs to the Browns with $30.4 million extra to play with this season. Crazy to think of how good Cleveland was last season while leaving so much cap space on the table. Rounding out the top five most cap carryover are the Jets ($26.7M), Cowboys ($25.4M), Jaguars ($23.5M), and Eagles ($22.8M).
The actual salary-cap number has not yet been revealed, so we don’t currently know where each team will stand with regard to available cap money. According to OverTheCap.com, the Raiders currently have the eighth-most money committed for 2021 before any major roster cuts.
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