Tag: Raiders salary cap

Raiders current cap room minus rookie draft pool numbers

What Raiders have in cap room vs what they will need to sign their draft class

The big waves of free agency are behind us. That doesn’t mean there are no more free agents out there, it just means for the most part, teams are focused on the draft to try to improve the team. Then based on who they come out of the draft with, they could revisit free agency afterward.

How set up are the Raiders for this? Well, they’re not completely out of money.

Currently the Raiders sit at $3.5 million under the cap, which is among the least amount of money in the NFL. Only six teams have less.

Then the question is how much of that $3.5 million must be allocated to their draft class.

According to numbers at OvertheCap.com, the Raiders’ rookie draft pool is $6.17 million. But that doesn’t mean that’s how much cap space they will need to have in order to sign their class.

That’s because not all of their draft picks will land in the Top 51 which count against the cap. In fact, only their top two picks will make the Top 51, bringing the total they will need to $4.5 million.

That means they’re within $1 million of what they will need for their draft class. That is, of course, barring any draft trades. That amount is easy enough to come up with through restructures.

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Raiders jump into top 3 in available money under the cap

Raiders go from bottom 3 to top 3 in cap money. Just. Like. That.

The day is finally here. June 2. When the Raiders get the largest windfall in the NFL in terms of available money to spend under the 2022 salary cap.

The post-June 1 cut designations for Cory Littleton and Carl Nassib have landed some $19.75 in salary cap room for the Raiders that is now officially available to them as of today — June 2.

That money brought them from bottom three in the league among available cap money to top three…just like that.

With some $22.5 million in cap space now, the only two teams that currently have more cap space than the Raiders according to overthecap.com are the Browns ($41M) and Panthers ($25M).

Essentially this newly available money can spent in two ways; on outside free agents or on current player extensions.

In terms of outside free agents, they may want to consider an offensive tackle, as they still have a need for a solid starting right tackle and there are several good options still out there.

Raiders potential 2022 offseason cuts and cap casualties

The Raiders are currently sitting at a shade over $20 million in cap space. Here are seven players whose cuts would offer them them some relief.

Over the next month or so the Raiders have a lot of decisions to make with regard to their roster. Who to keep and who to cut are among the first concerns. I detailed who should be their priority to re-sign recently. Now let’s look at the players who could be cut.

The Raiders currently have a shade over $20 million to spend under a projected $208 million salary cap in 2022. And they have the aforementioned re-signings to deal with along with extensions to think about for the likes of Maxx Crosby, Hunter Renfrow, and Trayvon Mullen. And then of course there’s the matter of adding outside free agents.

For those purposes, I have listed seven players whose cuts would net the Raiders an additional $17.6 million without factoring in post-June 1st designations as that money wouldn’t become available until after June 1 anyway. As much as another $10 million could be freed up with June 1 designations.

Raiders new CB Casey Hayward deal cheaper than FS Jeff Heath was set to make

Raiders new CB Casey Hayward deal cheaper than FS Jeff Heath was set to make

Heading into the draft, there were still a few solid veterans on the market at the cornerback position. And many were still calling for the Raiders to make a move on one of them. The two names that were most associated with the Raiders were Casey Hayward and Richard Sherman, mainly because both played under Raiders’ new defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley.

The problem was, the Raiders had no cap room to add anyone. So, if they were to add someone, it would mean someone else had to go. And in order for the team to get a handle on just who should stay and who should go, they had to wait to see what they landed in the draft.

What they landed was the consensus best safety in the draft after trading up from No. 48 to No. 43 in the second round. With Trevon Moehrig now a Raider, it made Jeff Heath expendable. And days after the draft had concluded, they reeled in one of those veteran free agents still on the market, landing Casey Hayward and cutting Heath.

Heath’s release freed up $3.15 million in cap room in order to make it possible to sign Hayward.

With little to no wiggle room in terms of cap space for the Raiders, the details of Hayward’s deal pretty much had to be at very least an even swap. Turns out Heyward’s initial deal is slightly more affordable.

The former Pro Bowl cornerback will make a reported $2.5 million this season with incentives that could max out at $4 million.

The net savings in terms of the cap hit right now is $650K. That seems like a pretty good deal for a longtime starter and former Pro Bowler who has been a key part of Bradley’s top-10 pass defense with the Chargers for four seasons.

Hayward will compete with Damon Arnette and Rasul Douglas for one of the Raiders’ starting cornerback jobs alongside Trayvon Mullen.

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