The Las Vegas Raiders will have to do some restructuring, and possibly, some cuts to put themselves in a better cap situation.
The Las Vegas Raiders definitely have some expensive contracts on their books for which they haven’t been compensated for. By no means are we suggesting that they cut ties with all of the following players, rather than the Raiders brass led by head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock should take a hard look at their roster.
They can go many different ways in terms of restructuring or cuts, but will they? Well, if they want to sign any meaningful free agents then yes, they will. Let’s take a cautious look at which players they could possibly take off the books.
Trent Brown, tackle
This one’s tough, one hand, Trent Brown is a premier tackle but only when he’s healthy. Brown has only played 16 games in two seasons for the Silver and Black, in fact, staying healthy has come to define his career. The flip side is that Brown has the second-biggest contract on the Raiders per Spotrac, coming in behind Derek Carr.
That guaranteed amount of $36.25 million isn’t looking too good right now.
Fortunately for Raiders brass, if they’ve decided that moving on from Brown would be wise, they have an out. According to Spotrac, Las Vegas has a potential out this off-season if they go that route. The downside would of course be that the team would then need to draft or sign a right tackle.
For that reason, it might be worth having to end up paying Brown.
Tyrell Williams, wide receiver
Injuries are part of playing in the NFL, and for Tyrell Williams, that’s, unfortunately, the case. Williams got off to an impressive start with the Raiders following the Antonio Brown debacle, then, injuries reared their head derailing his 2019 season, with 2020 no different having missed the whole year.
Safe to say that Williams’ that the $10 million guaranteed when he signed hasn’t been a fruitful investment.
Let’s face it, the Raiders are actually loaded at wide receiver, well, at least with potential. 2020 rookies Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards figure to be future weapons, and Hunter Renfrow is one of quarterback Derek Carr’s most reliable receivers, so he’s not going anywhere.
The decision might literally come down to keeping Williams or re-signing Nelson Agholor. Sadly, Williams would come out on the short end if it came to that.
Lamarcus Joyner, defensive back
Unlike Williams, Lamarcus Joyner has been relatively healthy since joining the Silver and Black, but unfortunately, his on-field production has been anything but fruitful for the Raiders considering the contract he received. Like fellow teammate Cory Littleton, Joyner had a successful career with the Los Angeles Rams, but things changed in Vegas.
Joyner was forced to play in the slot within Paul Guenther’s scheme, which led to nothing but struggle. ’29’ has given up completion percentages of 69.4 and 66.7 each of the last two years, respectively. Also, he’s surrendered five touchdowns in coverage during that span.
Financially speaking, the commitment to Joyner was expensive and like the other two, it hasn’t borne any fruit. Per Spotrac, Joyner’s contract is worth nearly $42 million, with an average annual salary of $10.5 million, that’s a lot for mediocre play.
The Raiders would have to eat a lot of Joyner’s contract to move him either way, they might stick it out. Interestingly enough, rookie corner Amik Robertson saw action in the slot.
This might lead to Joyner returning to his natural position he had with the Rams, at that point, maybe this huge contract would be worth it. What do you think Raider Nation? Should the team move on from any of these signings?