Resetting the Las Vegas Raiders biggest needs after free agency
By Evan Groat
Cornerback
The Raiders missed out on their top two options in free agency at the cornerback position, as Byron Jones signed with the Miami Dolphins and Chris Harris Jr. landed in Los Angeles with the Chargers. They ended up settling for Eli Apple, or at least that was suppose to be the plan, but things changed late last week.
It was reported on Thursday that the Raiders and Apple were unable to finalize the one-year deal that would have earned Apple $6 million for the 2020 season. The busted deal leaves a major hole at cornerback opposite of Trayvon Mullen, who came on strong as a rookie last season for the Silver and Black.
The Raiders have a small amount of cap space, as they still have the $6 million from the Apple deal, and Rodney Hudson agreed to restructure his contract to free open more cap space. That means there is a possibility they look to go bargain bin shopping for some depth.
Possible options include Dre Kirkpatrick, Logan Ryan, Darqueze Dennard, and maybe even the return of Daryl Worley. Even if they sign one in free agency it seems almost a certainty a cornerback will be selected with one of their two first round picks.
Likely options would include Florida’s CJ Henderson, LSU’s Kristian Fulton, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Clemson’s AJ Terrell.