Oakland Raiders: Predicting the next pieces to fall in offseason of change
By Kevin Saito
Jared Cook ($5M)
At the time the Raiders signed Cook, it seemed like a superfluous move. Yeah, some predicted that at six-foot-four, 245 pounds, he’d be a fantastic red zone target for Derek Carr. Some predicted big things for the big tight end.
And with 54 receptions for 688 yards, he didn’t have a bad season, per se. He just didn’t have an exceptional season.
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His numbers seem even more ordinary when you consider he had just two touchdowns on the year, and his commanding presence as a red zone target never really materialized. For the season, he was targeted down in the red zone just seven times – hauling in one pass for six yards and zero touchdowns.
Some will continue to argue that Cook had some big, important catches. True enough. However, if you’re going to credit him for those, you also need to dock him for the big, important drops and fumbles that cost this Raiders team as well.
Simply put, Cook didn’t do anything special. And given that he’s carrying a $5 million dollar cap hit in 2018, the Raiders could well part ways with Cook. They could go younger and cheaper at the position and very easily make up the production they’d lose with Cook.
Clive Walford is on the roster for another season. They have Pharaoh Brown under contract. And those two combined are still cheaper than Cook. They could also choose pick up a mid-level free agent or dip into the draft to pick up a productive pass catching tight end.
With a cap savings of $5 million – again, zero dead money if they cut him – keeping Cook doesn’t make a lot of sense, when there are other, cheaper ways to go to replace his production.