Las Vegas Raiders: AFC West free agents to ‘steal’

Raiders could target Chargers RB Kallen Ballage

Raiders fans have been looking for the perfect combination of ‘thunder and lightning’ from the running back position since the days of Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley, and while the Raiders showed flashes of it in the early 2000s with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, there was never a sustainable rushing attack. The Raiders have a young star in the making with Josh Jacobs, but after suffering injuries in back-to-back seasons due to significant wear, it is clear that the Raiders need to soften the load to maintain Jacobs’s durability.

Enter Kalen Ballage, the 6-foot-2, 231 pound running back that has the size, speed, and power to wear down defenses. Ballage has the ability to earn the hard yards in short-yardage situations to keep the chains moving, and that will prove huge for a team that failed to convert inside the red zone last season as well.

Ballage’s Over The Cap valuation lists him at $1.784 million/ per year, so the Raiders signing him on a two-year incentivized deal makes sense as they look to improve the rushing offense in 2021. It should be noted that Ballage is a restricted free agent, and the Chargers do reserve the right to place a tender on him, which would grant the team refusal to match any offer made should the Raiders choose to pursue him.