Austin Howard Released by Raiders After 3 Seasons

The Oakland Raiders plan to release offensive tackle Austin Howard on Friday.

Howard, 30, posted a farewell message on Instagram early Friday morning: 

Cutting Howard means Oakland will save $5 million against the cap in 2017.

The Raiders initially signed Howard to a five-year, $30 million deal with $13.8 million guaranteed prior to the 2014 season.

He started 29 of a possible 32 games during his first two years in the Bay Area. However, Howard's 2016 season was derailed by shoulder injuries, and he underwent offseason surgery on a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

The recovery from those procedures made Howard questionable for the start of training camp and figured to put him at a disadvantage for the starting right tackle job.

Factor in the $5 million savings, and the Raiders' decision was seemingly made for them.

Veteran Marshall Newhouse, who spent the last two seasons with the New York Giants, now projects as the most likely candidate to open the season as a bookend along the offensive line opposite left tackle Donald Penn.