The Raiders continue to make slight roster moves ahead of their Week 1 game with the Baltimore Ravens. On Thursday afternoon, we learned that the team will sign veteran linebacker K.J. Wright to a one-year deal.
But in order to free up enough cap space to make that signing, the Raiders have restructured the contract of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The former Pro Bowl defensive end just inked a new deal this offseason, but the Raiders are already going to him for some cap relief.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Raiders added three void years to Ngakoue’s contract and saved over $8 million in cap space. Just to be clear, this move did not require Ngakoue to take a pay cut, but instead, gave him more money upfront.
Make it $8M* in cap savings for the Raiders with Yannick Ngakoue, whose cap charge for 2021 is for now just about $5M.
The Raiders not only added some space to soon officially sign LB KJ Wright, but also for in-season roster resources.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 3, 2021
With Wright now on the roster, the Raiders won’t be forced to play two of their young linebackers in Tanner Muse and Divine Deablo. Instead, they will primarily work on special teams as Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatoski and Wright will likely be the starters for the Raiders.
