The Oakland Raiders have money to spend in free agency 2015 and the team may target players like DeMarco Murray, Julius Thomas, Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin, Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley on the market, while players like Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson or Mike Wallace could be trade targets as Reggie McKenzie tries to build a winner for Jack Del Rio.
The Raiders are coming off of another losing season and they are projected to have some of the highest amount of cap space in the league, meaning they could be active this offseason. Del Rio takes over as head coach from Dennis Allen and Tony Sparano and he said that he wants to bring back the old school Raiders edge as he tries to build back the franchise. Last offseason the team had the most cap space of any team and while they spent on a number of free agents, they kept it mostly to B-level players and lower.
Doing that helped set the team up for another solid run this offseason and with the deep roster of players on the market, the Raiders could make an impact. The team is likely to go after Suh, as he has the type of mentality that Raiders fans love even if the rest of the league doesn't. Suh will command a ton of money and is likely to leave Detroit and that makes the Raiders a prime option with the money they have. Murray is another name to watch, as the team needs an RB and could pay what Murray is looking for.
Maclin is a strong WR option, while Julius Thomas could be a fit if he ends up leaving the Broncos and that is an expected move. The Raiders may look at trades on the market as well, with Andre Johnson and Mike Wallace potentially getting moved. Johnson is likely done in Houston, while Wallace has continued to wear out his welcome in Miami.
The team has enough cap space to pull off a trade for Adrian Peterson or Larry Fitzgerald, but there is a chance that both of those players will be released at some point over the next year. The Raiders could wait that out and then try to sign them, but it remains to be seen when they will be available. According to Fox Sports Arizona, Fitzgerald and the Cardinals are working on a new deal and while reports have the two sides making positive progress, no deal has been reached yet. Earlier this offseason reports had Fitzgerald likely getting released and if that happens, the Raiders, Patriots and numerous other teams will be interested in signing him.
Josh Gordon also could be a potential option down the line, but his suspension puts his future in the NFL up in the air and likely takes the Raiders out, scene he may not be a free agent until 2016. The Raiders need some playmakers on both sides of the ball and this comes after the team did some solid drafting the past couple years with Derek Carr, Latavius Murray and Khalil Mack looking like strong players. The team has money to play with on the cap and could make some major moves heading into the 2015 season.