Raiders Have Chance to Sign Impact Role Players with Remaining Glut of Cap Space
Even after an offseason spending spree, the Oakland Raiders have a glut of cap space. If they don't use it, they also don't get any benefit from it until 2016 or beyond. A team that hasn't won more than four games in three years shouldn't be saving much for the future.
As the NFL calendar inches toward the draft, the Raiders have a big opportunity to sign impact role players with their reserves. Most other teams are either cap-strapped, waiting for the May 12 deadline so free agents don't count in the compensatory picks formula or waiting until after the draft to assess need.
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The Raiders don't have any of those limitations, which should give them an advantage when it comes to signing free agents still on the market. Despite their offseason gains, the Raiders can still provide an easier path to a starting job for veteran free agents.
On Tuesday, the Raiders became the first team to sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. It's reportedly a one-year pact with Green Bay Packers safety Sean Richardson worth $2.55 million.
Signing restricted free agents to offer sheets is one way to spend their remaining cap space, but they can't fill the team with special teamers. The Raiders need real competition and quality reserves to prevent attrition from zapping any momentum they've gained this offseason.
The Raiders brought free-agent wide receiver Michael Crabtree in for a visit on Monday, per Rapoport, but the former San Francisco 49er remains unsigned. The Raiders have a major need for a wide receiver that many assumed they would fill in the draft. Crabtree won't change their draft plans, but he could provide valuable competition and injury insurance
For his production, Crabtree is worth around $6 million at 2015 prices. The Raiders should be able to get him for considerably less than that, as comparable players have signed deals in the $3-4 million range.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Miami Dolphins offered Crabtree $3 million, but he reportedly wants $4.5 million. The Raiders have the capability to bridge some of that gap.
If the Raiders can get a motivated Crabtree who is committed to rebuilding his value by avoiding the wrong kind of headlines, they very well may get an impact player at a need position. They couldn't ask for more from a free agent at this time of year.
After Crabtree balked at their offer, the Dolphins moved on to former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings. According to Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald, Jennings visited Tuesday and left without a contract.
Jennings is older than Crabtree but was equally productive last year and doesn't come with the locker room concerns. Jennings also wouldn't have as much upside as Crabtree due to his age but would likely come at a similar cost.
Still, Jennings would provide quality competition at a position of need. Jennings is familiar both with general manager Reggie McKenzie from their years together in Green Bay and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota when the team shipped Percy Harvin to Seattle and signed Jennings as his replacement.
Wide receiver James Jones played with Jennings for years in Green Bay. Assuming the two didn't have a falling out over Jennings' comments about Aaron Rodgers in 2013, there would be instant chemistry there.
"I'm extremely close to Greg," Jones said at the time, via Will Brinson of CBS Sports. "I'm the godfather of his middle daughter."
That's the kind of deep chemistry the Raiders are trying to create in Oakland this offseason. Quarterback Derek Carr spoke at the start of the team's offseason program about the importance of connecting with his teammates.
"This is really when you become a team," Carr said, via Raiders.com. "Everyone is 0-0, and our focus is to become the most close-knit team that we can be while at the same time going out there as a unit and winning football games."
Jennings could help the Raiders even if he's on the wrong side of 30.
Justin Blalock
It's not clear who the starting right guard would be for the Raiders if the season started today, which is a scary thought. The Raiders can't rely on the draft to produce an immediate starter at the position even if they use an early pick on one, which means Khalif Barnes could quite possibly be in line to start again.
Barnes is a dandy depth player at this stage of his career because he can play four offensive line positions, but the Raiders need someone better to start. For some reason, former Atlanta Falcons guard Justin Blalock is still on the market.
Blalock visited with the Detroit Lions last month, per Rapoport, and the Tennessee Titans checked in with him before that. So far, he remains unsigned.
| Justin Blalock (LG) | 3.8 | 2.1 | -0.2 |
| Gabe Jackson (LG) | 3.7 | 7.8 | -3.8 |
| Austin Howard (Moving to RT) | -12.8 | -11.4 | -3.9 |
| Khalif Barnes (Projected RG) | -9.7 | -2.5 | -7.5 |
Oakland's new offensive line coach, Mike Tice, was with the Falcons last season, so he knows Blalock very well. Tice would already know how to get the most from Blalock, who started every game for the Falcons in 2014.
Pro Football Focus gave Blalock a plus-3.8 grade in 2014, which put him just above Raiders rookie left guard Gabe Jackson at 25th in the league. Although he's 31, Blalock has only missed three games in eight seasons.
The market for offensive guards is thin, but the Raiders still have the opportunity to bolster their unit with a quality player. It just makes too much sense to sign Blalock at a position the Raiders have mostly ignored this offseason.
Lance Briggs
The Raiders have gotten out of the business of signing over-the-hill veterans, but at this point of the offseason, most players under 30 who aren't backup types have signed. Briggs is 34 and played just eight games in 2014, but he played well, and he'll probably come cheap.
The 49ers worked out Briggs last week. Briggs, a Northern California native, would sign there to help fill the void left by the retirements of Chris Borland and Patrick Willis—except the 49ers are waiting to sign Briggs, presumably for purposes of preserving their compensatory picks.
That leaves the Raiders a window to convince Briggs to sign a few miles to the north. Briggs would give the Raiders options and depth at linebacker, which they haven't had in years.
With a player like Briggs on the roster, the Raiders could move Sio Moore back to the strong-side linebacker spot he played his rookie season. Moore played better at that spot, but the Raiders moved him due to need and because they drafted Khalil Mack to play that position.
Mack has proved himself capable of playing on the line of scrimmage, so a move to defensive end makes sense. Mack has already been playing end in sub packages, and taking him off the line of scrimmage only limits what he does best.
Briggs would also be a good backup for middle linebacker Curtis Lofton if he were to be ineffective or injured. Lofton is the most questionable free agent the Raiders signed this offseason, so buying an insurance policy in Briggs would be ideal.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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