The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of cap space to work with this offseason, but what will they do with it?
The NFL recently revealed the salary cap for the 2024 season, and it includes a record-breaking increase from last year’s $224.8 million. The new cap sits at $255.4 million — an increase of $30.6 million.
So, what does that mean for the Raiders?
Well, it depends on who you ask.
Salary cap news:
The NFL announced that the 2024 Salary Cap will be $255.4M per club, with an additional $74M per club payment for player benefits, which includes Performance Based Pay and benefits for retired players. Total 2024 player costs will be $329.4M per club, or more…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 23, 2024
According to Over the Salary Cap, the Raiders have $42,936,109 in cap space. Spotrac is a little more generous at $55,476,342, while Yahoo! Sports is giving them $48,653,311.
Either way, it’s good news for a team entering its first offseason with head coach Antonio Pierce.
In fact, only a handful of teams have more cap space than the Raiders — Over the Cap has them listed at No. 11 in the league, while Spotrac lists them at No. 9.
While everyone’s talking about the Raiders potentially moving up in the draft, general manager Tom Telesco is also looking for ways to move up in terms of cap space.
Lucky for him, he has plenty of options.
How Can the Las Vegas Raiders Gain Cap Space?
The team currently has six players with a double-digit cap hit — Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.6 million), Davante Adams ($25.4 million), Maxx Crosby ($24.5 million), Kolton Miller ($15.7 million), Hunter Renfrow ($13.7 million), and Jakobi Meyers ($13.6 million) — according to Spotrac.
Of those six players, two of them are at risk of getting cut or traded — Garoppolo and Renfrow. The Raiders could save around $20 million by cutting those two players. Of course, that all depends on when they cut them — pre- or post-June 1.
The Las Vegas Raiders can save around $25M in cap space releasing Hunter Renfrow and Jimmy G in the offseason. pic.twitter.com/7FmkvACnJw
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) January 30, 2024
Cutting/trading Jerry Tillery and Brandon Facyson could add around $2 million more in savings.
And then you have contract restructures and extensions…
There’s no telling how those play out, but restructuring the contracts of Adams and Crosby would help. The Raiders can also extend Crosby, who is currently signed through 2026 — but only guaranteed through this upcoming season.
Kolton Miller is another name to watch.
Raiders 2023 offensive line grades:
Kolton Miller: 81.1
Dylan Parham: 61.1
Andre James: 76.3
Greg Van Roten: 75.3
Jermaine Eluemunor: 71.4????☠️ pic.twitter.com/uc7kvVxNM4
— PFF Las Vegas Raiders (@PFF_Raiders) February 20, 2024
He has two more years left on his contract and, at 28 years old, is one of the best tackles in the game. An extension makes sense, and it helps the team save money in 2024.
The more cap space, the better — especially with Josh Jacobs set to become a free agent.
But that’s a topic for a different day.
For now, the Raiders are looking ahead to a busy offseason with free agency a few weeks away and the NFL Draft in two months. Things are about to start heating up!
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