A series of moves by the Raiders and around the league have put them in a fairly decent spot heading into the free agency negotiating period.
The team currently sits with just over $30 million in cap space under the $208 million salary cap, which lands them at seventh in the NFL according to Overthecap.com.
The teams ahead of them are:
Colts $69.8M
Jets $48.5M
Dolphins $48M
Seahawks $46.3M
Jaguars $39.6M
Bengals $34.5
The recent moves the Raiders made to clear up some cap room were to restructure the contracts of LT Kolton Miller and RB Kenyan Drake, which freed up a combined $14 million in cap room.
For a moment, that put them at around $35 million in cap room, but the extension given to DE Maxx Crosby brought it back down to $30 million. But that’s still better than where it was last week.
More moves are expected, including the release of LB Cory Littleton, which will free up at least $1.76 million. Should they opt for a post-June 1st cut, they would save a lot more, but wouldn’t see that come off of their cap until June 1st, so it can’t work for them at the start of free agency.
You can see other possible Raiders cuts here.
As it stands, $30 million is enough to sign as many as two big splash free agents as well as a handful of lesser names, should the Raiders choose to do so and should any big free agents sign on.
Their top needs are wide receiver, offensive tackle, cornerback, and defensive tackle. If the Raiders spend big, it will likely be at one of those positions.
Other positions that could see an addition include guard, center, and linebacker.
