The Las Vegas Raiders are in uncharted territory this offseason with first-year general manager John Spytek and new head coach Pete Carroll.
Instead of spending big money in free agency and trying to "win" the offseason, the new regime is focusing on high-value players and building the team through the trenches. This has resulted in letting several of the team's best players leave in free agency and sign large contracts with other NFL teams.
Outside of Jakobi Meyers, the Raiders are a bit thin at wide receiver, so that is one position that the team could spend big money on this offseason. There are a handful of notable names available, like Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs and Amari Cooper, but Kupp is the only one whose name has been linked to Las Vegas.
However, The Athletic's Tashan Reed reported on Thursday that the team may not be interested in the veteran wide receiver for one key reason.
Raiders could be out on Cooper Kupp due to contract details
According to Reed, Kupp is asking for somewhere around $12 million per year, and at that price point, the Raiders would not entertain a deal. Spotrac estimates his market value at roughly $11 million annually, and overpaying has not been Spytek's style this offseason.
While Kupp still has some gas left in the tank, he is nowhere near the player that he was in 2021 when he won the league's receiving triple crown. He hasn't played a full season since that year and his production has been on a steady decline.
However, the former Super Bowl MVP could still be effective in the right situation and at the right price. Las Vegas has almost $50 million still available in cap space, but a large sum of that will be spent on a contract extension for Geno Smith.
Diggs or Cooper may make more sense from a pure football standpoint in terms of their ability to stretch the field, but the former would be even more expensive and the latter already left the Raiders once before. A cheaper player like Tyler Lockett, who already has a rapport with Smith and Carroll, may make more sense.
There are also several good wide receivers in this year's NFL Draft class, so Spytek and Carroll could easily go that route. Keep an eye out for Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan, who may be a viable option with the No. 6 pick in the draft. Regardless, the team will survive without Kupp, especially if the asking price is that high.