The Las Vegas Raiders were a major disappointment in their first season under head coach Josh McDaniels. Despite making a number of splashy additions on both sides of the ball, the Raiders were inconsistent throughout the season, blowing multiple big leads and ultimately finishing with a 6-11 record.
The offseason will now be crucial as they look to bounce back and place themselves amongst the contenders in a stacked AFC. The first big move has already been made as the team released quarterback Derek Carr and is in the hunt for their next man under center. But apparently, there could be some other moves on the way as well.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that there are some ‘rumblings’ that the Raiders could look to either trade or release some veterans in an attempt to mold the roster better to what McDaniels prefers, via Rob Goldberg of Bleacher Report:
“There are rumblings that Las Vegas will reset parts of its roster in the mold of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported. “It wouldn’t surprise if the Raiders trade or release a few veterans as a result.”
Who these veterans might be are unclear, but it would seem like a trade would be more plausible than outright releasing some of these players who don’t fit McDaniels’ ideal mold. Players such as Chandler Jones or Kolton Miller would leave over $20 million in dead cap space if released while wide receiver Hunter Renfrow would leave almost $12 million in dead cap.
Perhaps a trade of someone like Renfrow or tight end Darren Waller could be in the works, but both of their values took major hits after injuries derailed their seasons. Renfrow is coming off easily the worst season of his career with career lows in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Meanwhile, Waller had his worst season in the last four years after appearing in just nine games.
What the Raiders could get in return for one of them or someone like Jones is unclear, but perhaps Dave Ziegler and the front office believe it would be better to get draft compensation in return and focus on filling holes via the draft or free agency where the team has some cap space available to play with.
Following the release of Carr the Raiders have $48.4 million in salary cap space, which is the second-most in the NFL trailing only the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons.
