Jeff Saturday talked about Colin Kaepernick working out with the Las Vegas Raiders andlocker room reactions. The time is 1:05. The Las Vegas Raiders have 88 players on their 90-man roster, and while they drafted two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen and a pair of running backs, they still have needs. Particularly at right tackle. Las Vegas has just over $6 million in salary-cap space, which is less than five teams. With the June 1 designation applied to the March 16 releases of defensive end Carl Nassib and linebacker Cory Littleton, the Raiders will be getting an additional $19.8 million in salary cap space. Only four teams had more than $20 million in total cap space entering this week. With cap space and needs coming to a head, what will the Raiders do, under new management with general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels? What should they do? The Raiders spent more money than any other team in the league, they spent more than $235 million in cash. There are a few options for Las Vegas, with organized team activities continuing this month and a three-day mandatory minicamp scheduled for June 7-9. Listen to me here. The Raiders already have 27 defensive tackles on the roster, but they have signed two more, re-signed one, and drafted two more. Josh McDaniels likes to make a strength, well, stronger. Imagine if the bad boy of the NFL was the perennial bad boy of the NBA. The five-time Pro Bowler is 35 and his best days are behind him, but he has not missed a game since 2011. Each of the past two seasons, he had six sacks. Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones would be freed up if the team of him and Nichols collapsed the pocket from the interior. The Raiders didn't land any of the players that fans were hoping for, including J.C. Jackson and James Bradberry. Free agency: Grades.
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More depth for the secondary
Rock Ya-Sin was acquired by Las Vegas in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts, but the presumptive starter is a toe injury victim. The Raiders did not pick up the fifth-year option on strong safety Johnathan Abram. The Raiders did not acquire his replacement.
Kevin King, a second-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2017, is still on the market. Versatility is key in Patrick Graham's scheme, and he played safety in college. If you want to go deep with a vet, Richard Sherman is still out there, and perhaps a transition to safety is in his future.
Las Vegas has a Pro Bowler in the middle, a rising cover linebacker, and a guy who knows Graham's scheme in Kyler Fackrell. There are a lot of guys that are on the roster.
If the Raiders decide to kick the tires on a vet, they could do worse than Anthony Barr, who started 98 games over the past eight seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and went to four Pro Bowls. I wondered if, at 260 pounds, Hightower was not sleek enough for Graham's more multiple defense, even though I mentioned him as a potential pickup for the Raiders before.
Alex Leatherwood was drafted to play the position he was drafted to play before he was moved to right guard after four games. Brandon Parker, who started 12 games at right tackle as a first-round pick in the draft, got an extended look after signing a one-year, $3.5 million contract this spring.
Carr was sacked 40 times last season, the second most of his career. Riley Reiff, who started 12 games for the Cincinnati Bengal before going down with an ankle injury and missing the playoffs and Super Bowl, and Daryl Williams, who started 33 of 33 games for the Buffalo Bills over the past two years, are two veteran right tackles.
The roster could be entered into training camp as is. Extensions for guys already under contract could mean taking care of Crosby and Carr.
Carr wanted his deal to be friendly for the team to take care of Pro Bowl slot receiver Hunter Renfrow and tight end Foster Moreau. Carr mentioned the tight end.
Renfrow, who was a fifth-round pick by the Raiders in 2015, caught 103 passes for the second most in franchise history. While he is one of the top tight ends in the NFL, he suffered through an injury-plagued season that cost him six games last season, as he hired a new agency at the start of the year. His catch total dropped from a franchise-record 107 in 2020 to 55 and, with the addition of Davante Adams on the outside and Carr's trust in Renfrow in the slot, you have to wonder how it will affect Waller's production and projected value.
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