The hammer is dropping in Washington this morning. No, I’m not talking about in the current administration, I’m talking about the football team. New head coach Ron Rivera has taken the reins and he’s cleaning up the cap.
Two of the team’s top eight cap hits got their walking papers this morning, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
First up was former All-Pro cornerback, Josh Norman. His release saves the team some $12.5 million against the cap this year. Rivera was the head man in Carolina back in 2016 when the team slapped the franchise tag on an unhappy Norman and later removed it and cut ties with him. So, not a big surprise that Rivera would still want nothing to do with the very outspoken cornerback.
The other release is that of wide receiver Paul Richardson. His release doesn’t save much — about $2.5 million –but his $8.5 million price tag was far too rich for his production. The expected deep threat receiver averaged just 8.8 yards per catch last season, putting up 245 yards on 28 catches. In two seasons in Washington, he barely surpassed 500 combined yards.
What’s interesting here for the Raiders is wide receiver and cornerback are easily two of the team’s top needs.
Norman may or may not be a great option. He just turned 32 years of age and hasn’t been the same elite player the past couple seasons he was in his first six NFL seasons. Even if the Raiders do not show interest in him, his presence in the market is a good thing. The more the merrier as it brings down the price for everyone. Fewer talented players at any given positions means teams overpaying to outbid each other. More options works in teams’ favor.
While Richardson has not been special in Washington, his final season in Seattle showed he has something to offer in the right situation. He earned his 5-year, $40 million contract based on his 2017 season in which he averaged 16.0 yards per catch and scored 6 touchdowns. He’s still just 27 and after two down seasons, he won’t have a market anything like the one he had in the 2018 offseason. A one-year prove-it deal seems the way to go there.
And as with any prospect coming from that squad in Washington, all Jon Gruden needs to do is phone up his brother Jay to find out what type of player he would be adding.
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