Every fan dreams big in free agency. Sometimes they get their wishes, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the team goes after big names, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes it doesn’t matter whether they go after big names or not if they’re not in a position financially to pay them what another team will.
Which position will the Raiders be in? Well, it’s sounding a lot like fans should not set their sights too high.
“How active can we be in free agency? I think we’re going to be active, the question is, at what level?” said Raiders GM Mike Mayock over video conference last week. “We’ve been active with players on day one and day two in the last couple years. I think there is going to be a lot of depth in the free agency market this particular year. I think there are going to be more veterans out there on the market and I think it’s incumbent upon us to be patient.”
Mayock may have touched on something here about this year’s free agency.
While the Raiders are cutting big contracts and have yet to be active in re-signing their own free agents, they aren’t alone. It’s happening across the league. And the teams that play this unique free agency period right could get some great value.
This year the salary cap is taking a dip because of lost revenue in the pandemic. It’s not for sure yet how much of a dip, but considering that every previous year the cap went up, the drop is significant. And it means not only will the market be flush with talent, they figure to be more affordable than previous years.
We’re less than a week from the free-agent negotiating period and each day that passes, more talented players are cut, adding to the overall talent pool. In addition, there will be a lot of players who are looking for one-year deals with eyes on next offseason to get their lucrative long-term deal.
Some teams that have a lot more cap money to throw around could have their pick of the top players if they’re willing to ignore these factors. The Raiders are far from one of those teams, but could put themselves in much better position with some releases over the next week.
They already released WR Tyrell Williams and reports have them notifying guards Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito and DB Lamarcus Joyner of their releases. There also reports they are attempting to trade QB Marcus Mariota and T Trent Brown. This would also mean there is a chance that, should they not accomplish a trade, they could release them.
Should all of those players be cut or traded, they represent around $45 million in cap room. Should the cap be $180 million as some believe it will, that would put the Raiders at somewhere around $40 million in cap room.
But while they would have a lot of money, they would also have to fill the holes they just opened up.
Mayock added that the Raiders will “take a shot at a high-level player or two” this free agency, but quickly noted that he’s unsure about what kind of abilities the Raiders will have to compete in the market. His final words on it were somewhat telling.
“One way or another I think we’ll be active in free agency,” Mayock continued. “I don’t know if it will be day one, week one or month one, but at some point, I would expect us to try and fill some holes in free agency.”
‘At some point’ is doing a lot of work here. They have a lot of holes as it is. And would have to open up more to get more cap room.
Mayock is a draft guy. That’s where he would like to build the team. With free agency to fill the gaps. Those ‘gap’ players may not be exciting, but neither is having to cut the ‘exciting’ additions a season or two later.
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