Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

It is an annual tradition in Oakland. With free agency just around the corner the front office employees of the Raiders are working hard to get under the salary cap. It is a tradition Reggie McKenzie is trying desperately to end but one he’ll have to participate in for his first year on the job at least.

Depending on which source you believe, the Raiders are either $11-million over the cap figure or a healthy $25-million over.

No matter the exact number the job remains the same. Accountants must get creative in finding ways to move money around while McKenzie and company make phone calls to agents. Much of the heavy lifting will happen without so much as a peep from local beat writers or the national media getting wind of what’s happening.

Players will be asked to restructure contracts, defer payments or just simply take pay cuts.

The happenings that will make news relate to who the Raiders ultimately decide to release and retain.

We’ve seen all the usual suspects rounded up over the last few weeks. Names like Tommy Kelly, Michael Huff and Kamerion Wimbley have all been thrown under the salary speculation bus. As in they’re getting too big a salary to be contributing so little to a lackluster defense. In Kelly’s case his production has been there just inconsistently. Wimbley and Huff just can’t justify the money Al Davis gave them.

Where the real effects could be felt relate to how much McKenzie is willing to spend on likes of Tyvon Branch and Michael Bush. Both are set to hit the open market and both a sure to generate more interest than the script for the Jeremy Lin story.

It doesn’t at all look likely that the Raiders will go the franchise tag route. That too is something McKenzie would like to reverse the recent trend on. If that’s the case then the Raiders will have to offer some sort of longterm deal for either player presumably with some serious up front figures.

I’m of the opinion that the Raiders will move on from Bush. His franchise figure is far too large for a team that has Darren McFadden on its roster. Even if Run DMC does his usual injury disappearing act there is still no way to justify giving a lucrative deal to a part-time runner like Bush.

Taking care of the players currently on the roster is one thing. This whole discussion centers on the Raiders trying to get into position to be players in free agency. If recent history is any indicator then the Raiders will be free agency players on a very minor level.

The cash isn’t there to attract top tier talent. Not to mention the uncertainty of players currently under contract will make for a tough sell to players looking for work. Right now there isn’t much of a consensus on which way McKenzie is taking the Raiders. He’s looking to do an overhaul, no doubt about that. But are we looking at a complete rebuild or is there still a desire to try and build a contender on the fly?

The questions keep coming with answers few and very far between. All will be revealed in due time. Well…it will have to be with free agency set to start on March 13^th. The Raiders have been here before. They’ll be under the cap in time. McKenzie’s job is to make sure they’re not doing this same dance again…and again.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

As we speak the Oakland Raiders scouting department is hard at work trying to find the next…Travis Goethel? Until the NFL hands out its allotment of compensatory draft picks the Raiders are reduced to scouring the collegiate ranks for two late round draft picks. A 5^th round pick and a 6^th round pick is all the Raiders currently have in their draft arsenal. Not exactly the kind of stuff that will help to build a champion overnight.

Then again, in pro football champions are never built overnight. Right, Philadelphia?

Reggie McKenzie’s recent job experience dictates that the Raiders will try to assemble a winner for years to come through the draft. That’s what he helped to do in Green Bay. Too bad that process will be delayed for at least a year in Oakland.

There’s no telling what the Raiders will look like next year. Even with compensatory picks the only means to find new talent will be digging through the dregs of the NFL. The Raiders are capped-out so it will take some serious creative accounting to get into position to compete for top-shelf free agents.

Therefore McKenzie’s scouts have a much different task at hand. They’ll need to be digging through the rosters of NFL clubs to try and unearth diamonds in the rough. Perhaps there is a Jeremy Lin of the NFL buried on the depth charts in Cleveland.

For the upcoming NFL draft the Raiders are on the outside looking in as the biggest off-season party in pro sports will be without the silver and black.

You’ve got to wonder what instructions McKenzie issued his personnel department prior to their trip to Indianapolis for the scouting combine. Yes, there is always talent to be found in the late rounds but those success stories are few and far between. In recent years the Raiders have done well to unearth late round gems but we’re only taking contributors not legitimate stars.

All of the wheelings and dealings of the past two years has left the Raiders without draft picks and no playoff appearance to show for their troubles. Richard Seymour, Jason Campbell, Carson Palmer and Aaron Curry have all helped to get the Raiders back to mediocrity. While it’s an improvement there is no way that .500 is an acceptable goal. Right, Tom Cable and Hue Jackson?

All of those aforementioned players were acquired in exchange for draft picks. Nothing guarantees any of those draft picks would pan out but in the NFL the draft is everything. So many positions are given depth by the draft. Project players are taken in with hopes an unknown safety can become a shutdown corner or a running back with a serious injury in college can become a valued contributor in the pros. Also, the ever important special teams is filled out largely with draftees.

Overall McKenzie is going to have to pull a minor miracle to improve the Raiders overnight. But this was never a one-year turnaround. Mark Davis is in charge now and he’s taking the franchise in a different direction. Just how different will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Not only are the Raiders outsiders on the draft but they’re also likely to be quiet in free agency once again. The times are changing in Oakland but the problems remain the same. At least until McKenzie can wade through all that must be corrected we’re stuck waiting to see where the cards may fall. Hopefully he’s got some plan in place to shuffle the deck in order to see a few more hands dealt in the draft.