One of the most powerful tools that an NFL front office can use is the franchise tag, something the Las Vegas Raiders did not use this season. A one-year contract that pays the selected player an average of the top five highest-paid players at his position. This contract, while guaranteed, is not a favorite of the players due to its ability to limit their changes on the open market and lack of long-term stability.
On March 5th, 2024 the deadline to use the Franchise Tag came and went with many high-profile players not being restricted by the tag.
With over 42 million in cap space, and more expected to come when players such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Hunter Renfrow are no longer on the roster, the Raiders will have plenty of ammunition to acquire some of the best players available this off-season.
As mentioned, there were many star players not tagged by their teams, including Saquon Barkley and Christian Wilkins, and these three would make Las Vegas a substantially better team if the Raiders could acquire their services.