The Raiders don’t have many top-end players scheduled to hit free agency next month and the few that they do have are veterans who they will likely move on from. However, the one player the Raiders should make a priority in free agency is Casey Hayward Jr.
The veteran cornerback was signed after the draft by the Raiders and he was easily their best defensive back last season. He started all 17 games for the Raiders in the regular season and allowed just 427 yards.
But with Gus Bradley leaving, can the Raiders convince Hayward to stay in Las Vegas? That seems like a tall task considering they will be moving away from their Cover-3 defense.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they projected Hayward to receive a one-year deal in free agency worth $6.5 million. Here is a snippet of their thoughts on the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback:
“Hayward was a cap casualty of the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2021 offseason after earning the lowest grade of his career by a wide margin — 59.5 overall after zero prior grades below 70.0. Not much of a market developed for the 32-year-old, and he eventually signed a one-year, $2.5 million flier with the Raiders and former Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
All Hayward did this year was regain his elite form, with his 75.0 coverage grade being his fifth 75.0-plus mark in his past six seasons. He thrives playing zone coverage in a predominantly Cover 3 system, and there are a lot of defenses running such a scheme, so he should be playing his way into a better deal for next year.”
If Hayward were to leave the Raiders, they would instantly be in the cornerback market. It would quickly become the biggest need on their team and they might have to spend both cap space and draft picks to adequately address it.
So the question is, should the Raiders pay Hayward upwards of $6.5 million for him to return in 2022? The answer feels pretty obvious.
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