The Oakland Raiders are coming into the season with major questions for head coach Jack Del Rio and to improve they may look at trade deals, as Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson, Marshawn Lynch and Mike Wallace could be available and this comes as Frank Gore, DeMarco Murray, Jeremy Maclin, Randall Cobb and Ndamukong Suh are all hitting the market in free agency.
The Raiders need help everywhere and coming into the offseason they have one of the highest amounts of cap space in the league. According to Over the Cap, the team is projected to have over $50 million to work with and that gives Reggie McKenzie some flexibility to make moves. According to Pro Football Talk, Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch could be cap casualties this offseason, while Andre Johnson could be available in a trade.
The Raiders may look at those moves as options, but they also have free agency at their disposal. The free agent market has some big names and this class is very deep at a number of positions, giving the Raiders a chance to spend. Darren McFadden has his contract up and that could lead to the team looking at Murray or Frank Gore. Suh is also a free agent and he could be a potential target along with Jeremy Maclin, who is coming off of a strong season with the Eagles. The raiders need help on both sides of the ball and a player like Suh could fit right in with the Raiders fan base.
Along with the Raiders, the Jaguars, Browns, Jets, Titans, Colts and Broncos have some of the highest totals of space in the league and they could be players in free agency. The cap is expected to rise and that gives teams like the Raiders the chance to spend. While last season did not work out as planned, the team signed a number of free agents but did not go crazy and now they have a solid amount of cap space to keep adding to the roster.
The Raiders went just 3-13 last season and once again they have a top 10 draft pick. Last year the team picked Khalil Mack and that is why many see them going offense this year. While there are some linemen and strong defensive options at the top of the draft, most early mocks have the Raiders taking Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper with their first round pick. This move makes sense on a number of levels, as the Raiders are starved for playmakers and they want to keep Derek Carr at quarterback.
The Raiders won just eight games over the previous two years while going 4-12 in back to back seasons and now they are starting over again with Jack Del Rio as head coach. Mark Davis thinks he can bring a winning mentality to the team and this year Reggie McKenzie has the chance to spend in free agency after breaking things down and getting rid of a number of bad contracts over the past few years. The team ranked 26th in the league in passing yards per game and last in rushing yards per game and that is why most expect the team to focus on offense this offseason.
