The Oakland Raiders are making the right decision to let the Bills and Ravens go after Jeremy Maclin.
Based on the title of this post, you can imagine how I feel about the possibility of the Oakland Raiders signing Jeremy Maclin. It’s a no go.
In all honesty, Maclin is an excellent receiver and would make the Raiders offense (even more of) a juggernaut. With Marshawn Lynch and Jared Cook in the mix, if Maclin was somehow signed, there would be no holes whatsoever and Derek Carr would be a happier man, not to mention that all other defenses would already be hitting the panic button.
Seriously, how the hell did the Chiefs let him go like that? Their wide receivers today are: Jehu Chesson, Chris Conley, Gehrig Dieter, Tyreek Hill, Seantavious Jones, Tevin Jones, Marcus Kemp, Alonzo Moore, Demarcus Robinson, Tony Stevens, De’Anthony Thomas and Albert Wilson.
Except for Hill and TE Travis Kelce, both of whom are really good players, who else do they have? I mean, I know Alex Smith does not like to (or can’t) throw deep to anyone, but still.
Anyway, I have absolutely no sympathy for the Chiefs, so I fully support their decision to release Maclin.
Based on what was said earlier about the value Maclin would add to Oakland’s offense, it would seem like I am all for bringing him to the Raiders. The problem is that there is just not enough money to fit him within the team’s salary cap, given the situations of Carr, Khalil Mack and Gabe Jackson, who are all in line for big extensions.
Even if Mack’s negotiation is postponed to next year, and assuming nobody with a big cap number is cut, extending Carr’s and Jackson’s contracts would leave the Raiders with basically no significant space under the cap.
Of course, some players like Sean Smith, Austin Howard and Reggie Nelson might be hanging by a thread, but them being cut does not seem likely at this point, so we have to work with what is on the table now.
Last year, Maclin’s base salary was $9.75 million, which made him the 16th highest paid receiver (in average) in the league, right between Jordy Nelson ($9.76M/avg) and Pierre Garçon ($9.5M/avg), according to Over The Cap. Maclin is not the most expensive guy around, but his price tag is not exactly a bargain either.
Albeit a bit underused by the Chiefs last year, Maclin finished with 536 yards and 2 TDs in 12 games. But in 2015 his numbers were a lot better — 1,088 yards and 8 scores in 15 games. And in 2014, while still in Philly, he had great stats with 1,318 yards and 10 TDs.
Except for last year, Maclin’s stats do allow him to command a hefty paycheck. Maybe not near $10M per, but maybe something in the vicinity of $7-8M annually. Maclin is still 29 and does not have a history of injuries so in theory he can still be very productive in the right system.
Unless there is something else we don’t know, he should not sign a prove-it deal with anyone, which is weird as he had visits with the Bills and the Ravens, both of which have very little cap space. According to Over The Cap, the Bills have slightly over $12M and the Ravens a bit less than $7M. Even with a big discount, Maclin’s salary does not fit their budgets, so I’m not sure what kind of magic the respective GMs will make, but this is why they get the big bucks.
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As much as an offense with high-caliber receivers like Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin would be insane – plus it’s always good to stick another one to a division rival, Reggie McKenzie is not going to ruin the Raiders’ cap situation and I agree with him. Let somebody else enjoy Maclin.