Michael Wagaman of ESPN.com writes that it appears as though the Oakland Raiders are willing to allow C Stefen Wisniewski test the free agent market in the coming weeks.
According to Wagaman, Wisniewski appears to be targeting a contract in the neighborhood of $3 million or more per year.
As of now, the Raiders haven’t given any indications that they are willing to meet Wisniewski’s salary demands, and unless things change in the near future, he could get the opportunity to shop around this March.
The two sides reportedly discussed an extension during the season, but there was obviously little progress made.
Wisniewski, 25, has played out his four-year, $4,135,402 rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent.
Oakland used a second-round pick on Wisniewski back in 2011 and he has gone on top appear in 61 out of 64 total games. Pro Football Focus has him down for playing 1041 snaps this season and rates his as the No. 22 center out of 41 qualifying players.
The center market isn’t all that deep, so there is a chance that someone could offer him a decent contract this offseason.
Last year, the Raiders saw left tackle Jared Veldheer depart for the Cardinals, so it would really hurt to lose another young offensive lineman in 2015.
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the 22nd highest paid center in the league is paid 1 million a season, while the 16th is paid 3 million a season. I didn’t think the difference would be so big. I thought they would be maybe half a million apart but probably not. With all the cap space, I would rather overpay a little till Reggie found a replacement at center.
I’m not sure if they didn’t draft him because of his old man. 22 out of 41 isn’t all that good. It’s almost 22 out of 32, considering there’s 32 teams. Go figure !!!