The Oakland Raiders are coming into the offseason with plenty of salary cap space and with a deep class hitting the market, players like Julius Thomas, DeMarco Murray, Ndamukong Suh, Jeremy Maclin, Randall Cobb, Greg Hardy, Byron Maxwell, Frank Gore, Mark Ingram, Nick Fairley or Hakeem Nicks could be targets and this comes as Matt Schaub and Darren McFadden likely will be gone in 2015.
The Raiders went 3-13 in 2014 and now Jack Del Rio comes in to take over as head coach after Dennis Allen was fired and Tony Sparano was not retained. The Raiders have been in a decline for a decade and owner Mark Davis is hoping that Del Rio can turn things around moving forward. According to ESPN.com and Over the Cap, the team is projected to have more than $55 million in salary cap space and that could mean the Raiders will be active on the market this winter.
The team has major needs on both sides of the ball, but they have some strong young talent in players like Derek Carr, Latavius Murray and Khalil Mack and they will add another in the draft this year. Reggie McKenzie said to reporters at the combine that the Raiders are looking for "impact" players in free agency and that plays into what the team has planned since last year. The Raiders had the most cap space in the league coming into the offseason last year and they signed a number of players like Justin Tuck, James Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew, but they didn't sign any backbreaker contracts.
The free agent class this season is deep on both offensive and defensive players, with names like Julius Thomas, Jeremy Maclin, Randall Cobb, Greg Hardy, Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray, Ndamukong Suh, Mark Ingram, Nick Fairley, CJ Spiller, Cecil Shorts, Eddie Royal, Jordan Cameron and Jermaine Gresham available. The Raiders want to build around Derek Carr and they could look at adding Cobb or Maclin to the mix, as they are both coming off of career seasons.
Thomas is also expected to be a top target and reports have the Cleveland Browns, NY Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks as potential options for the Broncos tight end. Thomas has had 24 touchdown catches over the past two seasons and while the Broncos would like to retain him, the team also has to sign back Demaryius Thomas and that teams the tight end could go.
The Raiders have Mychal Rivera, but they need more weapons on offense and could go after Thomas. Cobb and Maclin are coming off of career years, while DeMarco Murray could be a potential option if the Cowboys let him go. Gore is also on the free agent market and the Niners could let him go. The team has enough money to sign Ndamukong Suh, but if he stays in Detroit, the team could look at Terrance Knighton, who played for Del Rio in Denver.
Darren McFadden is a free agent and the Raiders are not likely to return as he hits free agency, with NFL.com reporting that the Bengals could be interesting. Cincy offensive coordinator Hue Jackson coached McFadden in Oakland. McKenzie said that Matt Schaub could remain the backup quarterback, but the team also can release him to save over $5 million in cap space with no dead money left over, which could lead to them bringing in another veteran to backup Carr.