The 2022 NFL season opens today when the Rams and Bills square off on Thursday Night Football. The Raiders will take the field on Sunday against the rival Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California.
Usually when the season is upon us, the roster is set. You have spent all offseason, training camp, and preseason getting to know these players and they have been learning the scheme. But if even then, there are weak areas, looking to free agency might be the smartest move.
If the Raiders wish to do it, they have the money to make it happen. The second most cap space in the NFL to be exact.
As the NFL regular season begins, a look at how much cap space each team officially has, from the Browns to the Falcons. pic.twitter.com/qBAYv6Gqaq
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 8, 2022
Only the Browns ($37.9M) have more cap space than the Raiders ($16.17M).
There is a glaringly obvious area in which the Raiders could stand to spend some money — the offensive line.
Not only is it the weakest unit on the team, the Raiders spend less money on it than 30 other teams. Yes, they spend the second least amount on the offensive line in the league.
One benefit to waiting until after the season opener to spend that money is contract are no longer guaranteed after that. So, they can feel more comfortable taking a player they deem to be a risk.
