Oakland Raiders: A few free agents to target, one to take a hard pass on
By Kevin Saito
With the Oakland Raiders playing out the string on 2018, let’s take a look at some potential free agents worth targeting – and one to take a hard pass on.
Eight games into the season, the Oakland Raiders have absolutely nothing to play for – and haven’t for some weeks now. Suffice it to say, the Jon Gruden 2.0 era hasn’t exactly gotten off on the best note ever.
Given the lack of reasons to cheer for the next eight games, it only seems natural to start looking ahead toward next season and would could possibly be.
As irritating, frustrating, and disheartening the 2018 campaign has been, Gruden has actually set the Raiders up in an incredible position for the coming couple of years – provided he can take full advantage of the opportunities he’s generated for the organization.
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To say he needs a very successful offseason – which means bringing in productive players – is an understatement of epic proportions. Gruden doesn’t just need to hit it out of the park – he needs to knock the cover off of the ball.
And to that end, he’s positioned himself and the organization very, very nicely. With three first-round draft picks this coming year – two of them very possibly inside the top-10 or so, and all three very likely within the top-20, Gruden is going to be able to add a young nucleus of playmakers.
Where he’s going to make it or break it though, is in free agency. Having shed a lot of contracts – and shipped out other players due big money deals in their own right – Gruden has amassed a warchest that will be very close to $100 million dollars or more.
That’s a lot of scratch. And to all of the people saying free agents won’t want to come to Oakland, consider the fact that Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo still manage to sign free agents. If Gruden dangles a nice carrot out there, the free agents will come.
But, it will be a matter of getting the right free agents. Guys who can fit his system on offense, as well as Paul Guenther’s system on defense – guys who make an immediate impact.
There will be a number of players hitting free agency who can fill some of Oakland’s biggest areas of need. And a few you know Gruden will be tempted to land, but should steer well clear of. There is no doubt this roster will look very different come next season, but if Gruden plays his cards right, it could be a much better team.
Now obviously, not all of these guys will make it to the open market. Their current clubs may well push to sign them. But, they will all be unrestricted free agents, so it would behoove Gruden and the Raiders to make a play for some of them.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some pending free agents Gruden might want to kick the tires on and one he should avoid like the plague…