It was Isaac Newton who theorized that an object in motion stays in motion. In that vein, the Las Vegas Raiders were an absolute freight train to begin the offseason, acquiring two first-round picks by trading Maxx Crosby and spending two metric tons of cash to start the free agency period.
But Newton also recognized that an object only stays in motion until it is acted on by an unbalanced force. The Raiders' freight train was stopped dead in its tracks when the Baltimore Ravens backed out of the Crosby trade, sending back the superstar edge rusher and his $30+ million yearly price tag.
While it may have seemed rather obvious already, reports indicated that this blindside move threw John Spytek and the front office for a loop, drastically altering their offseason plans. Raider Nation knew that, after the first wave of free agency, the team was improved, but not near complete.
And it still seemed like, despite adding Crosby back into the mix, the Silver and Black had some wiggle room to make some more significant moves as April's draft approaches. But Spytek put the kibosh on that idea in a recent interview.
John Spytek tempered Raiders fans' dreams of another big offseason move
Spytek spoke with JT The Brick at Raiders HQ on Thursday and discussed a myriad of topics, from free agency to the Crosby trade falling through to the team's new head coach, Klint Kubiak. JT asked Spytek about the team's current salary cap situation, and Spytek had some harsh truth for fans.
"Yeah, well, we're up against it now," Spytek said. "So, I don't want the fans to expect a lot of big things coming."
It is not difficult to read between the lines here and understand that Las Vegas was operating in free agency as if they had Crosby and his massive extension off the books. Yes, the Raiders still have $24.3 million in salary cap space, according to Spotrac, but that's actually not much at this point.
Most have estimated that it will cost just south of $13 million to pay the 2026 draft class, leaving roughly $11 million to spend on veterans. But Las Vegas only has 65 players currently under contract, meaning they need to add 25 more to get their offseason roster to 90.
10 of those will come in the draft, unless Spytek acquires or gives away more picks, so the Raiders effectively have roughly $11-$12 million to spend on around 15 free agents. A team can't really make any big splashes under those circumstances.
Trading back in the draft could allow Las Vegas to add more promising young players on cheap contracts, and as expected, it sounds like that is precisely what Spytek plans to do at next month's event.
"We've got 10 draft picks right now. I'd love to end up with more," Spytek said. "So, we'll see if we can make that a reality on on draft day."
While that may not have been what Raider Nation wanted to hear, it is the reality of the situation. All eyes should be on the draft for any additions, as the Silver and Black are armed and dangerous with 10 selections, including three in the top 75.
Great teams are built through the draft anyway.