Oakland Raiders release Jordy Nelson, A.J. McCarron

The Oakland Raiders started cutting salary on Thursday, releasing both quarterback A.J. McCarron and wideout Jordy Nelson.

The Oakland Raiders continued to make moves on Thursday, but this time, they started to shed pieces of their roster. Both backup quarterback A.J. McCarron and wide receiver Jordy Nelson were both cut on Thursday, bringing some cap relief for a team that has been spending a lot of money in recent days.

For Nelson, he was expected to be the No. 3 wideout behind both Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams, two guys who officially became Raiders on Wednesday. In addition to Nelson, veteran wideout Seth Roberts also could be shown the door by the Raiders, who are in full rebuild mode when it comes to the roster.

Nelson’s $3 million salary would have become guaranteed if he was on the roster Friday.

McCarron will free up $5 million off the cap, as the Raiders will look for someone else to backup Derek Carr in 2019. The former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback came to the Raiders via a trade this past August, and he only appeared in two games for the Silver and Black last season.

With the two moves, the Raiders saved over $8 million in cap space, money they are likely to use to target other areas. Wide receiver will probably be taken care of in the NFL Draft, and there is a real likelihood that the Raiders go into next season with Nathan Peterman as their backup quarterback.

Nelson stepped up big time for the Raiders after the team traded away Amari Cooper last season, and I personally had hoped the team would keep him on the roster for 2019. The combination of Brown and Williams should be one of the better duos in the AFC West next season, but they need a third option in the passing game, and could turn to 2018 seventh-rounder Marcell Ateman to fill that role.