Oakland Raiders: Free Agency Checklist
Rory Anderson’s comprehensive preview of the Oakland Raiders free agency options, giving a checklist for each key position of need.
As per usual, free agency has become the center of attention for all of Raider Nation with the legal tampering period arriving this Monday. What is not typical for Raider fans, is the way in which this team should be diving into free agency.
Due to the new collective bargaining agreement which is pushing up the salary cap at an outrageous pace while simultaneously limiting the number of quality free agents that actually hit the market, along with the fact that the Raider nucleus is the perfect age, Reggie McKenzie is in prime position to spend big for one time only.
If you have read my work before this offseason or follow me on Twitter, you know that I advocated vociferously that Reggie McKenzie limit his spending each offseason in order to limit the long term impact upon the cap. That has changed this offseason.
From here out we will see fewer and fewer quality free agents hit the market as teams are incentivized to groom their own talent and reward them with massive contracts due to an ever expanding cap. For Reggie McKenzie this means having a very deliberate approach to free agency and using the money on hand in a very effective manner.
What I will outline as my free agent target checklist, is a plan to sign a few talented and relatively smooth scheme fit free agents that the Raiders can willingly overpay without hesitation to ensure they get them. The past three years have been a case of delayed gratification, and the only player to receive an iron clad contract has been Rodney Hudson.
Mark Davis was recently asked about their free agency plan and he said something to the effect of, “We will go after our guys and we will not be stopped from getting them”. That is exactly the mentality he should have and rather than cast a wide net, the Raiders should cast a very narrow one and get the most ideal players rather than settle for scraps
If for whatever reason the Raiders do not get a certain target due to being outbid, they should not settle for a lesser free agent if the gap is significant. They should also not be trying to fill every hole on this roster in free agency. This period is a time to aim for quality not quantity and short term fixes are as irrelevant as the actual money being fixed.
The core of this team is young with leaders growing every day, allow those leaders to lead this team and give them the young players that will grow and follow for years to come. It is to stop thinking about stop gaps, or temporary fixes, or even plugging many holes. It is better for the Raiders to get one extremely talented free agent, than 5 above average ones even if each of those free agents is a slight upgrade.