The Oakland Raiders have their team set mostly for the summer apart from a few positions and while Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen like the roster, the team still needs to sign rookies Tyler Wilson, D.J. Hayden and Menelik Watson to deals before training camp.
According to ESPN.com, in a look at all the cap room in the AFC West, the Raiders are still in a very solid position with $7.6 million in space to sign the three players and that amount should leave over some extra. Blogger Bill Williamson writes that the team should be able to sign the players and have some extra money left over, which means they could try and add another player or two before heading into camp this summer.
Two options on the free agent market include Willis McGahee and Desmond Bishop, two players that were cut recently from their teams after minicamp. McGahee was ditched by the Broncos after coming in late to camp and while the team said it was due to his health, the running back said that his leg was fully healthy after being injured last season. While that may be true, the Broncos felt comfortable going with Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman next season and now McGahee has to find another team.
McGahee could be a good fit for the Raiders, as they could use depth at the position after dealing with Darren McFadden being injured every year for the past few seasons. The 32-year-old is on the backside of his career, but with just Rashad Jennings, Marcel Reece and Latavius Murray behind McFadden, the team may want to add another player to the mix.
The team also has been rumored to be interested in Bishop, as McKenzie was in Green Bay before coming to Oakland. The team has a strong crop of linebackers in Nick Roach, Kevin Burnett and Sio Moore as a rookie, but they could also try to add Bishop, who has had interest from the Jaguars and the Vikings. The Jags look like a solid option and so do the Vikings, as the team could bring him in to play middle linebacker.
The Raiders feel that they can contend for the playoffs this season after getting Matt Flynn in a trade and also signing Mike Jenkins, Tracy Porter and Charles Woodson on defense. The offense is looking like it has the chance to be potent and if Flynn can play well at the start of the season, the Raiders could get off to an early winning record with games against the Jaguars, Chiefs and Chargers. The team has high expectations this season and while they were just 4-12 last year, they feel they can be one of the teams that jumps from losing record to the playoffs, like the Colts did last year.
