Jason Cole of B/R, citing multiple sources around the NFL, reports that the Raiders are widely expected to be big spenders this offseason.
This probably isn’t a huge surprise, considering that they have over $70 million in cap space to work with. Cole mentions that the Raiders have made it clear that they won’t allow money to get in the way of signing the players they want in free agency.
With this in mind, Cole expects them to target cornerbacks and offensive linemen in free agency and one name to watch will be veteran S Eric Weddle.
Last year, several free agents reportedly used interest from the Raiders to drive up their asking price, but Cole says that they are much more cognizant of this year and plan to offer big deals to their targets right out of the gate.
In 2015, the Raiders showed some notable improvement across the board, so bringing in some solid talent at positions of need could them in content for a potential playoff spot next year if everything goes according to plan.
In regards to Weddle, previous reports have said that he’s likely to prioritize signing with a contender over taking the best available offer. Even so, the Raiders have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for him in the past.
Weddle, 31, finished a five-year, $40 million contract that included $19 million guaranteed. The Chargers placed him on the injured reserve after Week 16 because of a lingering groin injury.
In 2015, Weddle appeared in 13 games for 79 total tackles, six pass defenses, one fumble recovery and 0.5 of a sack. Pro Football Focus rated Weddle as the No. 33 overall safety out of 88 qualifiers.
We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2016 Free Agents list.
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If the Raiders can land KO or use a top pick to replace Penn, get Weddle or Gipson to replace Woodson, sign Malik Jackson to replace Edwards Jr (unfortunate story for someone with great potential, hopefully I’m wrong and he makes a full recovery), a complimentary back for Murray in draft or FA, and finally a CB and MLB in the early rounds of the draft, we’ll be in business. Brandon, the MLB from the Broncos, could also be a quality upgrade, and there’s no doubt Del Rio and RM are targeting him. They say building through free agency is bad, yet the Broncos just won the Superbowl and have been a contender over the last 4 years based entirely off what they did in free agency, so it is possible. This is RM’s biggest off-season by far, to prove he can put the finishing touches on a near playoff contender and make them a perennial playoff contender.