The Oakland Raiders are in one of the toughest financial situations in the NFL heading into the 2013 offseason and the team took steps to try and rectify that on Tuesday, releasing a number of veteran players, including safety Michael Huff, who was a former first round draft pick.
According to ESPN.com, the Raiders cut receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and defensive end Dave Tollefson to help free up some cap space and the team also is looking to restructure Carson Palmer s deal. The Raiders released the players on the same day they lost one of their key defenders in Phillip Wheeler, as he signed a five-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins also signed former Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe to a five-year deal.
The Raiders also lost defensive tackle Desmond Bryant to a five-year deal with the Browns, leaving a big hole in the middle of their defense heading into 2013. The team likely will make more moves to bring the salary cap number down, including possibly releasing Tommy Kelly and Rolando McClain. Huff was formerly the number seven overall pick in 2009 and had been playing well for the team until he was released.
The roster is thin at a wide range of positions for the Raiders and after the cuts they are about $23 million under the cap, which means they could make some small moves to help upgrade at some positions. One place they might be able to find some value is at the linebacker position, where Brian Urlacher, James Harrison and Connor Barwin are available.
After the deals signed by Ellerbe, the Raiders should be able to find some players at much cheaper prices, although Urlacher could ask for a decent amount of money depending on the interest he gets from other teams. The Raiders seem to be far behind their counterparts in the division, even with the Chiefs, who were worse at 2-14 last year, but have already made great improvements.
The Chiefs acquired Alex Smith officially on Tuesday from the San Francisco 49ers and also added cornerback Dunta Robinson and tight end Anthony Fasano. The Raiders will miss Wheeler, who was one of the top linebackers on the team after making 109 tackles and 3.0 sacks last season. Heyward-Bey also was a solid contributor last season after making 41 receptions for 606 yards and five touchdowns.
The team could go after veterans like Urlacher and Harrison to add more depth to the roster and chances are they will be cheaper than the younger players at the position, which could benefit the raiders due to their salary cap situation.
The Raiders have some personnel issues at nearly every position and will need to use the draft and smart free agent signings to help add talent to the roster. The team has the third overall pick in the draft and could decide to take quarterback Geno Smith or one of the top rated offensive linemen like Eric Fisher if he drops past the Chiefs at one and the Jaguars at two.
The Raiders ranked eighth in passing yards per game in the NFL, mainly due to the fact that they were playing from behind for much of the season, and they ranked 28th in rushing yards per game with just 88 per contest. The team finished the season 4-12 and lost their final game of the season 24-21 to the Chargers.