The Oakland Raiders have been off to an interesting start in free agency and a Darrelle Revis trade could be coming next along with targets for players like Knowshon Moreno, Ben Tate, Julius Peppers, Champ Bailey and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for Reggie McKenzie and this comes after the team lost two huge players in Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer and now Revis has been released by the Buccaneers.
The Raiders started off free agency with a thud, losing both Veldheer and Houston, but they made up for those losses by signing Austin Howard, Rodger Saffold and Darren McFadden and while they still need to make up for the lost pass rusher, it's a solid start for the team. According to ESPN.com, the Raiders signed Saffold to a $40 million deal after losing Veldheer and now they are looking at names like Jared Allen, Justin Tuck, Julius Pepper and Henry Melton to help replace Houston.
Many identified Houston and Veldheer as priority signings for the Raiders this offseason, but both players are now gone, as Houston signed with the Bears and Veldheer left for the Cardinals. The Raiders now have to try and upgrade at a number of positions, including quarterback, wide receiver, running back and at cornerback, especially since Tracy Porter is a free agent. The team brought back injured running back Darren McFadden on a one year deal, but they lost Rashad Jennings to the Giants and now they could look at Knowshon Moreno, Ben Tate or Maurice Jones-Drew as potential replacements.
Jennings led the team I rushing last season and McKenzie is hoping that a one year bet on McFadden will lead to a very productive season after he has yet to play in more than 13 games in his career. Jennings led the team with over 700 yards rushing last season, while McFadden had less than 400 and now he will be looking for a bounce back year. McKenzie understood that Houston and Veldheer could be swayed to leave and now he will have to find a way to make up for those losses.
The Raiders want to be strong up front on defense and strong in the backfield and they reportedly have checked in on a possible Darrelle Revis trade. According to CBS Sports, the team is a strong player for Revis along with the Cleveland Browns and with as much cap space as Oakland has, they could potentially handle having the $16 million salary for the cornerback. The Raiders had issues in the secondary last season and cornerback DJ Hayden could greatly benefit from the presence of Revis after being a first round draft pick last season..
The Buccaneers are expected to release Revis if he is not traded by Wednesday and the Patriots, Jets and Browns could be options if that happens. The Raiders have the room and the picks to trade for Revis if they want to and adding him would automatically upgrade their defense. The Raiders signed Porter and Mike Jenkins last season and the secondary did not play as well as many expected and now Dennis Allen and McKenzie could jump in on a Revis trade and that could make up for losing Houston and Veldheer after developing those stars. Adding Austin Howard was a huge grab from the Jets as well.