The Oakland Raiders are heading into a very important offseason in 2014 and with free agents hitting the market in names like Charles Woodson, Lamarr Houston, Jacoby Ford, Jared Veldheer, Tracy Porter and Rashad Jennings, general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen have some major decisions to make heading into the offseason about who to re-sign and let go of.
The Raiders have been breaking down their salary cap numbers over the past couple seasons and ditching a number of high priced and bad contracts and now they have set themselves up to be big players in free agency for the first time in a few years. The team is expected to have nearly $60 million in cap space and with the Raiders picking in the top five in the draft, they could set themslevs up for some sustained success down the line, but that will all depend on how McKenzie navigates the waters of free agency, especially with his own players.
There are a number of big names on the market this season that the team could chase, including Hakeem Nicks, Ben Tate, Knowshon Moreno, James Jones, Jimmy Graham, Jared Allen and Michael Oher, but who the team goes after will depend on which names they keep from the roster in 2013. Woodson looks like he will be coming back after a solid season last year and since he is on the cheaper side, McKenzie likely could get him back below market value and that could be the same for Mike Jenkins and Tracy Porter, as both players were solid enough last season and the team needs to retain some veterans to help bring up DJ Hayden.
The team has a top five pick and that could mean a new quarterback and at WR, Jacoby Ford is a free agent, while both running backs in Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings could leave. McFadden is nearly guaranteed to go after his injury issues and Jennings may get some attention after coming in and playing well for the Raiders in his absence and he led the team in rushing, McFadden has missed 19 of the last 41 games for the Raiders and has only rushed for 1,000 yards once and he has only played in 13 games as his career high in any season, meaning a split is likely.
The team has some priorities in free agency, including Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer, who are considered the top players the team needs to sign. Houston has been excellent for the team over the past couple seasons and if they don't get him back, someone like Greg Hardy or Allen could come in. Another huge player to sign is Jared Veldheer, as he has been a foundational tackle for the team on the left side and he has said that he plans on staying with the team and that will be a major issue going forward if he doesn't.
The Raiders have a number of questions and with other names like Khalif Barnes, Vance Walker, Andre Gurode and Usama Young hitting the market, McKenzie needs to keep his priorities in order as he builds for 2014 and beyond.
