As the Raiders hit June, they see an influx of cap space hit the books. Where this money comes from is from the post-June 1st designation given to the release of QB Jimmy Garoppolo.
As of now the Raiders pick up $12.8 million in cap space this season. They had split the $17.1 million owed to Garoppolo between this year and next. Putting his dead cap at $4.26 this season and $12.8 next season.
The added $12.8 million gives them a substantial $34.1 million in available cap space, which is the sixth most in the NFL according to Overthecap.com.
1. Patriots — $46.4M
2. Commanders — $43.4M
3. Lions — $40.3M
4. Cardinals — $35.5M
5. Jaguars — $34.2M
6. Raiders — $34.1M
A lot of quality free agents wait to sign until this time, hoping needy teams will be able to offer better deals with the added cap money available. And if they signed right now, they’d only have missed a couple weeks of OTA’s.
It seems unlikely the Raiders would just sit on over $34 million heading into the season. Or even into training camp.