Oakland Raiders: Predicting the next pieces to fall in offseason of change

The Oakland Raiders are a team in transition that could look very different next season – with a few pieces already gone, we predict the next pieces to fall.

For the Oakland Raiders, the winds of change are blowing. And they’re starting to blow a little bit harder with each passing day.

Fresh off a highly disappointing 6-10 campaign in a season that began with a lot of buzz about this team being a contender, HC Jack Del Rio was fired and new/old HC Jon Gruden was brought in to start righting the ship.

Gruden has put together an impressive staff that’s long on experience. A staff that is tasked with getting the most out of a group of players that largely underachieved last season.

That isn’t to say though, that all of the players on the roster at present will be there once the season begins. In fact, it’s pretty safe to assume that some of the faces in the 2017 team photo will be gone from the 2018 version.

We’ve already seen the dominoes begin to fall with the release of cornerback David Amerson after three seasons – two of them entirely forgettable – with the team.

The second piece to fall was the team announcing that longtime kicker and fan favorite, Sebastian Janikowski – one of the only constants for the Raiders for nearly twenty years – would not be coming back in 2018.

And those two seem to be the opening salvo for what is looking like a busy offseason filled with change in the East Bay.

As of now, according to Sportrac, the Raiders currently have about $25.5 million in cap space. A bit below the league average, and given the nature of contracts for marquee players – such as the deal they’re going to have to get done with Khalil Mack, sooner, rather than later – it doesn’t leave a lot of cap flexibility to bring in some big names.

Which means they’re going to need to clear up some cap space if they want to bring in guys who can help elevate this team to the next level. Which, of course, means that they’re going to be making some moves to free up that cap space – some expected, some not.

So, with the winds of change starting to howl, let’s predict a few of the next pieces to fall this offseason…