Oakland Raiders: Five Veterans Who Are Most Likely To Be Pink-Slipped

Austin Howard (OL)

This one probably falls into the no-brainer category. Austin Howard has long been thought of as the weak link on Oakland’s offensive line – when he’s been in the starting lineup anyway.

And staying in the starting lineup has been the problem when it comes to Howard. Though he started all 16 games of his first season with the team (2014), he was limited to 13 games the following year, and last season, appeared in just 11 games (with just 10 starts).

That downward trend in playing time is not the sort of production one would hope for from a guy who signed a five-year, $30 million dollar deal.

Having undergone two surgeries on his shoulder this offseason, Howard is likely going to be on the shelf through training camp. And during that time, he’s going to have to watch youngsters like Vadal Alexander (who got some work at the position last season), a cheaper veteran in Marshall Newhouse, and rookies Jylan Ware and David Sharpe take the snaps.

That he can’t be on the field battling for his position is going to put him at an extreme disadvantage – one that will ultimately end with him getting his walking papers.

And if the team needed any added incentive to part ways with Howard, if they cut him with a post-June 1 designation, they’ll save $5 million under the cap – money that can and will be applied to contract extensions for Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson.

He was serviceable for the most part, so it wouldn’t be fair or right to classify Howard as a complete free agent bust, but he certainly never lived up to the contract he signed.