With all the cancellations and schedule changes due to COVID-19 concerns, the start of the new league year and thus the start of free agency appeared as if it might be in danger of being pushed back.
It would be a last-minute decision, being that the free-agent negotiating period is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Monday). But things will proceed on schedule according to a memo sent out to all NFL teams today.
Monday, March 16 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (Noon E.T.) begins the three-day free-agent negotiating period. The Franchise tag deadline had already been pushed back to the minute before that.
Wednesday, March 18 at 1 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. E.T.) the new league year and thus the start of free agency. Trades also become official at that time.
The top-51 players on each team will have to be below the 2020 salary cap of $198.2 million by that time. The Raiders are currently well below that, according to OverTheCap.com.
Thus the first major deadline of the NFL offseason stays as planned. That much less time we will have to speculate over what the Raiders will do.
