Category: Raiders buzz

Free agency doesn’t officially kick off until next Wednesday, but the Raiders are getting a head start by meeting with recently released veterans. On Friday, they hosted former Pro Bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who last played for the Bears in the 2019 season.

The news of his visit was first reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network via Twitter:

Former #Cowboys and #Bears S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix visited the #Raiders today, source said, as Las Vegas continues to look for secondary help prior to free agency.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2021

Clinton-Dix has started 90 career games in the NFL, totaling 16 interceptions. He signed with the Cowboys in free agency last offseason but was released before Week 1.

Clinton-Dix is at his best as a free safety, roaming the deep center of the field. His tackling is an issue, but that might not be all that important in a Gus Bradley defense that has him lined up sometimes 20-25 yards off the line of scrimmage.

At just 28-years old, Clinton-Dix might be a stop-gap solution for the Raiders at free safety. While we are unsure how the meeting went with Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden, we will continue to update this situation as more information becomes available.

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Happy Friday, everyone. NFL teams will be working through the weekend trying to re-sign some of their own free agents while prepping for free agency. Come Monday, the rubber hits the road at breakneck speed.

That’s when the free-agent negotiating period or ‘legal tampering period’ opens. That’s when deals will be made, many of which will happen quickly.

In the past couple of years, the Raiders have been busy early. A few of those players added in the first few hours of free agency two years ago were sent packing this offseason. Most notably Tyrell Williams, Trent Brown, and Lamarcus Joyner. Their exits, along with some others have left behind gaping holes the Raiders must fill.

Obviously, the draft is the ideal place to find those replacements, but the first place they will look is in free agency. And ideally, they will set themselves up so that once the draft gets here, they will have a starting option in-house so they don’t reach for any position in the draft.

Usually putting together a list of top draft needs has a nice round number like five. But for this team, five is not enough. There are at least seven positions with a need that the team could look to fill in free agency.

Here are those positions along with some of the top free agents available to fill them.

Disclaimer: Some Raiders’ position needs are very specific so don’t be surprised if a player you consider a top free agent is not among those listed.

1. Defensive tackle

With only part-time starter Maurice Hurst for sure returning, the Raiders have a need for two starters this offseason. Especially for some interior pass rush. And Leonard Williams was slapped with the franchise tag, so he’s not an option. Bringing back Johnathan Hankins would be a smart move to fill the nose tackle spot.

Top free agents:

Dalvin Tomlinson
Shelby Harris
Sheldon Rankins
DeQuan Jones
Kawann Short
Larry Ogunjobi

2. Offensive tackle

Trent Brown’s trade will be official when free agency opens. Until then the Raiders need to get to work finding his replacement at right tackle.

Top free agents:

Daryl Williams
Mitchell Schwartz
Ricky Wagner
Riley Reiff
Kelvin Beachum
Matt Feiler

3. Edge rusher

When your best pass rusher has seven sacks and the next guy on the team had three, you’ve got issues. And new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is used to having elite pass rushers. Re-signing Takkarist McKinley would be a smart move after stashing him on IR the latter half of last season.

Top free agents:

Shaq Barrett
Bud Dupree
Leonard Floyd
Matthew Judon
Melvin Ingram
Haason Reddick

4. Offensive Guard

Again, two starters are needed with both Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito released. Reports suggest the Raiders will look to bring back Incognito at a lower salary. Re-signing Denzelle Good would also be smart. But as of now, they have two holes to fill.

Top free agents:

Joe Thuney
Kevin Zeitler
Germain Ifedi
Kyle Long
John Miller

5. Safety

Bradley’s defense requires a very rangy free safety. Johnathan Abram is a strong safety, Jeff Heath is a capable, but an unspectacular option and Erik Harris is headed for free agency.

Top free agents:

Anthony Harris
John Johnson
Xavier Woods
Malik Hooker
Keanu Neal
Jaquiski Tartt
Duron Harmon
Tre Boston

6. Wide receiver

The starters last season were supposed to be rookie Henry Ruggs III and Tyrell Williams. Then Williams was lost for the season and the Raiders were never able to replace him. Nelson Agholor was the team’s best receiver, but he’s more of a speedster like Ruggs, only better at getting open. Bringing Agholor back would be smart, but if even if they do, they need more talent overall at the position.

Top free agents:

Kenny Golladay
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Corey Davis
TY Hilton
Curtis Samuel
Marvin Jones Jr
Sammy Watkins
Keenan Cole
Breshad Perriman

7. Cornerback

With Lamarcus Joyner gone, the Raiders have an immediate need for a nickel cornerback. They could also use some competition on the outside with Damon Arnette.

Top free agents:

Richard Sherman
Desmond King II
Troy Hill
Michael Davis
Patrick Peterson
Mike Hilton
AJ Bouye
Quinton Dunbar
Xavier Rhodes
Ronald Darby
Bashaud Breeland
Cameron Sutton

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With the NFL’s legal tampering period opening up on Monday, the Raiders are clearing their books in order to be aggressive once again in free agency. The team has already released several veterans from the 2019 free-agent class, including Lamarcus Joyner and Tyrell Williams and trading away Trent Brown to open up space on their books.

On Friday, the team made another big as they saved $7.1 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of two linebacker signings from the 2020 offseason; Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton. That report is via the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter:

Contract restructures to create cap space as the league year looms:
— #Saints WR Michael Thomas did a restructure, creating $8.7M of space.
— The #Raiders did the same with LBs Nick Kwiatkoski ($2.7M) and Cory Littleton (4.4M).
— The #Ravens restructured CB Marcus Peters (3.5M).

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2021

It doesn’t appear the team did a “full” restructure of Littleton and Kwiatkoski, which is smart as the Raiders could easily move on from either of them after the 2022 or 2023 season. Still, this frees up space in order for the Raiders to sign one or two more impact defensive players.

Look for the Raiders to continue to find ways to create cap space over the next couple of days as they prepare for free agency.

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Just a year ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were raising the Lombardi Trophy. They did that with Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz starting at left and right tackle respectively. Today both were given their walking papers and thus adding two proven veteran starting tackles to the market.

The Raiders also made a big move at tackle, trading Trent Brown to the Patriots for a late-round draft pick swap in 2022. The move leaves them with a need at right tackle. Filling that spot was made a lot more doable with these moves by their division rivals.

Schwartz in particular would appear to be a legit possibility. The Cal alum has been a starting NFL right tackle for nine seasons for the Browns and Chiefs. Over the past five seasons in KC, he was named first-team All-Pro once and second-team All-Pro three other times.

His bookend linemate Fisher had some rough years early in his career as a former number one overall pick. But he’s come into his own, making the Pro Bowl in each of his last two full seasons.

The 6-7, 315-pounder has played left tackle for the past seven years, which would suggest he could want to go to a team that wants him to stay there, but it’s not unheard of to switch sides.

Even if Fisher isn’t in the cards for the Raiders, all talent added to the market is good for teams looking for players at that position.

What started as only a handful of decent options at tackle on the market has turned into several solid options. Trent Williams is still the number one free agent on the market, followed by Daryl Williams.

Schwartz and Fisher enter the mix after that along with recently cut former Vikings RT Riley Reiff, and suddenly it’s a pretty good-looking tackle market, which is great news for the Raiders and other teams in need at the position.

You can see some other solid free-agent tackle options for the Raiders here.

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[lawrence-newsletter]

The Raiders are expected to be active in the free-agent market once again this offseason as they look to improve their offensive line and defense. One position that is expected to be targeted is free safety as Gus Bradley’s defense relies on that player to cover the deep third of the field.

But with Justin Simmons, Marcus Williams and Marcus Maye already off the market due to the franchise tag, who is the next name for the team to consider? Well, allow me to introduce you to John Johnson II of the Los Angeles Rams.

In a recent offseason simulation done by ESPN, Johnson ended up with the Raiders on a four-year deal worth $50 million. Here is what Pro Football Focus had to say him as a player after four years in the NFL:

“Johnson has fallen off the free-agent radar a bit after an injury-plagued 2019 season, but make no mistake, he’s an elite safety when healthy. His greatest contribution is also the most important one, as he’s a truly dominant cover safety when called upon. His 85.6 coverage grade ranked fourth among safeties during the regular season, marking the third time in four seasons he was at or above 84.9… Johnson is on a tear to close his contract year. Johnson is PFF’s third-highest-graded safety, with an 85.3 grade on the season.”

Johnson might just be the top-ranked safety left on the market and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Raiders had him high on their list. It also doesn’t hurt that Johnson teased that the Raiders could be interested in him during a live stream back in January.

Unlike Lamarcus Joyner, Johnson is still in the prime of his career and is a free safety only in the NFL. Expect him to get a big deal in free agency and for the Raiders to be among the final suitors.

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Here we all were, a week out from the start of free agency, and no NFL salary cap had been announced. Finally, with just five days until the start of the free agency negotiating period, the 2021 salary cap has been set.

NFL 2021 Salary Cap: $182.5 million

Raiders adjusted salary cap: $186.1 million

The NFL salary cap is two million more than previously projected, but still a significant drop from last year’s $198 million which explains why there have been so many ‘cap casualties’ this offseason.

The Raiders came into the offseason with one of the worst cap numbers in the league. But after several cuts of high-paid players, they’re in a better position cap-wise.

At this moment, after releases of WR Tyrell Williams, G Richie Incognito, G Gabe Jackson, and DB Lamarcus Joyner, the Raiders have just under $18 million in cap room according to overthecap.com. But the trade of RT Trent Brown will be official at the start of the new league year which will clear another $14 million from the books.

If you factor in the Brown trade to the current number, here is where they stand

Raiders Cap Availability: $31.27 million

This gives them the eighth-most cap money in the league. And should they trade or cut QB Marcus Mariota, that would free up another $11.35 million which would bring their cap room to just under $42 million which would be sixth-most in the NFL. But we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.

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