Monday morning was greeted with a report that the Raiders had put nickel cornerback Lamarcus Joyner on the trade block. Even though trading him would saddle his next team with around $9 million against the cap, which made it a difficult proposition at best. A few hours later, those trade ideas ended with the news that the Raiders are doing the inevitable. Joyner is being released.
The #Raiders are releasing DB Lamarcus Joyner, source said. He was set to make $9.95M and in this cap environment, that was tough to make sense of. Another starter available in FA.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2021
Entering the third year of his contract with the Raiders, Joyner leaves behind $2.5 million in dead money of his $11.2 million salary for this season. But it was a small price to pay to save over $8 million.
It’s safe to say Joyner never lived up to the four-year, $42 million deal he signed prior to the 2019 season. The former safety played nickel cornerback for the Raiders. He was at least good enough at that to keep him from playing safety even when the Raiders were decimated by injuries because they had no better options to play the slot.
It’s safe to say they will be spending a portion of the money they are saving by releasing Joyner to find a more affordable replacement.
