The Oakland Raiders have been spending freely in free agency this offseason and Vince Wilfork could be their next target if he gets his release from the New England Patriots, while names like Michael Vick and Josh Freeman are options on the free agent market along with trade deals for Matt Schaub or Mark Sanchez if they aren't cut by the Texans and Jets.
The Raiders started off the offseason slow by letting names like Jared Veldheer and Lamarr Houston leave along with Rashad Jennings, but they have been spending more in the past couple weeks, signings back Darren McFadden and adding James Jones, Austin Howard, Tarrell Brown, Justin Tuck as well as Antonio Smith and LaMarr Woodley. The defense is really starting to get a makeover and that's big after how they performed last year and if Wilfork is released, the team could easily target him as a big man in the middle of their D, as they still have money to spend.
All those players and their contracts equals to about half of the cap money that the team has and that's over $30 million and that means Wilfork could be in their wheelhouse. According to ESPN.com, Wilfork has asked the team for his release after they asked him to restructure his contract and while some think this move is just a "negotiating tactic", it could be the real thing after 10 years with the club. The Pats just signed Darrelle Revis to a deal worth $12 million and now Wilfork could take a pay cut or an actual cut after that went down, as he is set to make nearly $8 million next season and overall he will count as $11.6 million on the salary cap.
Wilfork went down with an Achilles injury last season and he is now 32-years-old and former five time Pro Bowl player and if he hits the market, he will have plenty of suitors. Last season he played in just four games before getting hurt and he finished with nine tackles overall. During his career Wilfork has been remarkably durable, playing in all 16 games every season but last year and two other years when he missed six games total. In 2012, Wilfork had 48 tackles and added three sacks and two forced fumbles and he has been a consistent run stopper for the team for years.
The Raiders still have a number of questions on their team and while they added James Jones to the offense, they still need another quarterback. The team has said that they were not totally sold on Terrelle Pryor or Matt McGloin and that is why trade rumors have come up and now reports from ESPN has the team looking at Josh Freeman, Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez and Matt Schaub as potential options at QB.
Last year the trade for Matt Flynn didn't work out and now they could go after Schaub or Sanchez in a trade or take Vick or Freeman from the market. Vick is visiting with the Jets this weekend and the Cleveland Browns have been interested in trading for Schaub and that could make things interesting for the Raiders. The team ranked near the bottom of the league in passing yards per game and they see Sanchez as a nice option, as they feel he never got a fair shake in NY and could use a simple change of scenery.