On the eve of the NFL’s legal tampering period, the Las Vegas Raiders have $24.2 million in cap space. How should they spend their money during free agency?
The NFL’s new league year officially begins Wednesday, March 17, though the fun actually starts Monday, March 15 with the “legal tampering period,” which allows teams to openly negotiate with free agents. The Las Vegas Raiders must take a proactive approach to the open market.
Under head coach Jon Gruden, most of the Raiders’ free-agent splashes have made small ripples during the regular season. Initially, offensive tackle Trent Brown seemed like the exception with a Pro Bowl campaign in his first year with the team, but his spotty availability tarnished his tenure.
This offseason, the Raiders have an assortment of needs across the roster, though they should focus primarily on their defense and offensive line.
The Raiders’ recent cuts left Kolton Miller and Rodney Hudson as the two remaining starters from last year’s front line. Nonetheless, we could see familiar faces return on new or less costly contracts.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will attempt to rebuild and develop players on his side of the ball. In two of three seasons under his predecessor, Paul Guenther, the Silver and Black gave up the most points in franchise history (2018 and 2020).
Going into a crucial fourth term with a microscope on Gruden and the defense, the Raiders must hit on a few free-agent acquisitions to complement their young core of talent and help an offense that ranked 10th in scoring this past season.
We’ll go through the top free-agent options for eight positions. Each selection is justified by a reason in parenthesis that explains why the Raiders should or would sign that player. The list starts with the most important need to fill during free agency in descending order.