The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be feeling good about the status of the team heading into training camp. Despite being armed with over $34 million in salary cap, the team is not likely to spend much of that money on bringing in outside players.
The Raiders may be happy with how their offeseason turned out but not everybody is on board with what they did. Seth Walder of ESPN recently went through and graded every team's offseason. He gave the Raiders a "D."
"The biggest failure was not trading Adams, which is almost inexcusable in the Raiders' current state," Walder wrote. "The 31-year-old wide receiver has one cheap year left on his contract ($17.5 million for a trading team) and Las Vegas needed to cash in for draft capital now. Instead, it is running out the clock on a depreciating asset. Likewise, the Raiders ought to have traded down and acquired future assets that could have been used on or to support a future quarterback.
"Elsewhere, the Raiders spent a ton on defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, which I criticized at the time as an overpay. He helps their defense, but I don't know if he's worth the price paid."
The criticism of not trading Adams is somewhat justifiable. If the Raiders don't upgrade at quarterback, they aren't going to compete for a Super Bowl. Adams is 31 and his value will only go down. However, if the Raiders think that they can improve on their 8-9 record from last season, there's really no reason to trade Adams now, especially if he doesn't want out.
The criticism of the Wilkins signing is ridiculous. There were likely other teams willing to pay the price that the Raiders paid to land him. Defensive tackle was a massive position of need for Las Vegas and now they have one of the best in the business. There's also the fact that he'll help open things up for Maxx Crosby.
Did the Raiders have a perfect offseason? No. Not landing a young quarterback with upside could end up being a huge mistake. The team also hasn't added much in free agency. Despite that, Wilkins was a great signing and they put together a very appealing draft class. Offseason grades are stupid to begin with but Walder's assessment seems to completely overlook what the Raiders are trying to do.