The Oakland Raiders are projected to have some of the most cap space in the league heading into 2015 and that means free agents like DeMarco Murray, Ndamukong Suh, Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin, Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas could be potential targets along with Adrian Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald, as those two veterans could get released.
The Raiders have a new head coach in Jack Del Rio and he was hired to take over for Dennis Allen and Tony Sparano, who guided Oakland to a 3-13 record last season. The team opened the year 0-4 before Allen was fired and they went to 0-10 before getting their first win of the season. While 2014 was mostly a mess for Oakland, the team did find some solid young talent in quarterback Derek Carr, wide receiver Andre Holmes, running back Latavius Murray and tight end Mychal Rivera.
The Raiders are projected to have around $55 million in cap space this offseason and if they make cuts of veteran players it could go even higher. The team is desperate to add some playmakers on both sides of the ball and the franchise could look at DeMarco Murray, Julius Thomas, Ndamukong Suh, Randall Cobb or Jeremy Maclin as potential free agent options. Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson are also two players that could end up on the market, as the Vikings and Cardinals could release those veterans in salary cap saving moves.
The Raiders will have some money to spend and Suh could be a good fit despite the fact that he has some attitude issues on the field. Maclin is another target to keep an eye on, as he is coming off of a strong season with the Eagles and could sign elsewhere as Chip Kelly plots his move to get Marcus Mariota. Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas from the Broncos could be potential options as well if the Raiders throw enough money at them to leave Peyton Manning.
Allen was fired after going just 8-28 in his time with the team, putting up back to back 4-12 records before the 2014 season. General manager Reggie McKenzie broke down the team over the past few years and that put Allen in a tough situation. While no one expected the Raiders to be a playoff team, they were expected to improve this year, as they spent money on Justin Tuck, James Jones and Lamarr Woodley and also drafted Khalil Mack at fifth overall.
The draft gave the team, Mack and Derek Carr and moving forward the Raiders will try and build around those players. Mel Kiper Jr. has the Raiders taking Amari Cooper at number four in the draft and that could be a strong option for the team, as they could use more talent at wide receiver. Cooper is coming off of a record setting season at Alabama with 124 catches for 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.