Raiders: Alex Leatherwood’s new home saves Las Vegas money
Former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood gets a fresh start elsewhere after being waived by the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Alex Leatherwood saga is officially one for the Raiders’ history books.
All throughout this past week, the Raiders’ front office has spent time reaching out to each of the other 31 teams. The reason? In hopes to find a trade partner for their 2021 first-round pick, Alex Leatherwood.
The new regime in Las Vegas was looking to part with Leatherwood, but the $8 million dead cap hit upon being waived complicated the process. After a week of hearing “No” 31 times, the Silver and Black elected to swallow the cap hit and cut the Alabama alum.
Now, the Raiders find themselves with a hefty dead cap hit above their heads.. or would’ve, had Alex Leatherwood not been claimed off of waivers. Luckily for Las Vegas, the Chicago Bears wasted no time claiming the former first-round pick, knocking that $8 million dead cap hit all the way down to $2m and change – effectively saving the Raiders $5.9 million.
That’s right; thanks to the Bears claiming Leatherwood on waivers, the only money Las Vegas owes their former right tackle is the cash from his signing bonus.
Had the Raiders found a trade partner for Leatherwood, the dead cap hit would’ve been reduced by 75% in comparison to waiving the 23-year-old. Now, with Chicago’s move, that’s exactly what happened regardless. Las Vegas saves a ton of cap space, and the Bears get a young player who has the tools to be serviceable in this league.
Things may not have gone how Leatherwood wanted during his time as a Raider, but all the same, we wish him the best during his next chapter.
Raiders cut victim Kenyan Drake finds a new home as well
It was only a matter of time before Drake got picked up by a team.
Like Drake, veteran Demarcus Robinson was shoved aside for young talent, ultimately leading to both players getting the axe. Soon after Robinson become a free agent, he agreed to a deal with the Ravens. Now, Kenyan Drake joins Robinson in Baltimore.
Demarcus Robinson has already put on a show in Baltimore despite not being there very long. Check out this unbelievable 67-yard touchdown the wideout scored against Washington in the final preseason contest.
Drake is hoping to make a highlight play or two himself as a Raven, but in the meantime, we extend the same best wishes to this pair of former Raiders.