The NFL free agent period opens on March 11 and the Oakland Raiders have a number of names they need to work on signing and some of those could be Darren McFadden, Jacoby Ford, Rashad Jennings, Khalif Barnes and Jared Veldheer on offense, while they have already locked up a special teams stud in Taiwan Jones.
The Raiders are coming into the offseason with a ton of money after general manager Reggie McKenzie shed all the bad payroll from the salary cap and now they have a projected $60 million to work with in 2014. The team likely will let Darren McFadden go after the injury issues he has had during his time with the Raiders and that could lead to McKenzie locking up Jennings on a deal after he stepped in nicely in relief this season, leading the team in rushing with over 700 yards in 2013.
McFadden has not played in more than 13 games in any season he has been in the NFL and this season was particularly disappointing, as McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen were hoping that he could remain healthy. The team now may look to other names on the market if McFadden asks for too much and after the way Jennings played, he likely will return as well. McFadden has missed nearly half of the Raiders past 41 games and along with Jennings the team did not get enough out of the rushing attack.
Jacoby Ford is a free agent and while he has been valuable as a special teams returner, he was not much of a receiver and if Brice Butler can show some skills, Ford will likely not return. Butler was a seventh round draft pick last season and while he didn't do much overall, he caught nine passes for 103 yards and could build on that this offseason. Butler was inactive over the last four games, but if he has a good summer he could be in the mix as a fourth or fifth option.
What the Raiders do in the draft will depend on how free agency goes and if they can't being back Lamarr Houston, the team could try to go all in on a Jadeveon Clowney or someone like that. Houston is considered a priority this offseason and comes as the 25 years old turned into one of the best d linemen in the league.
According to ESPN.com, the Raiders locked up one of their most important players, as Taiwan Jones was signed to a contract extension and he now will be with the team through the 2017 season. Jones is not a big production player, as he had 22 carries for 94 yards and four catches for 36 yards early in his career, but after moving him to special teams the team found all-star and he ended up with 13 solo tackles and two assists last season along with five carries for 23 yards and two catches for 55 yards at running back.
