The Las Vegas Raiders have mainly focused on the defensive side of the ball throughout free agency and now that the number of premiere transactions is cooling down, they can focus on their offense as there are still quality players available.
The Raiders have reached agreements with defensive players as expected. They fielded one of the worst units in the league and having a sense of urgency, general manager Mike Mayock turned his attention to that side of the ball. After only adding veteran tight end Jason Witten, Mayock, in conjunction with Jon Gruden, can now negotiate contracts with offensive players in order to not neglect that side of the ball.
Here are some offensive players the Raiders could target ahead of the second wave of free agency:
Melvin Gordon, RB
We’ve already talked about how Gordon would provide quality depth and even start a couple of games for Josh Jacobs if the Alabama product needed to miss some games because of injuries.
Last year, the former Chargers back held out with the hopes of getting a new deal and it didn’t happen. This year, he is expecting a contract in the range of $10 per year. The thing is that the market isn’t there and the longer he waits, the more leverage teams will have to pay him what they want. That’s when the Raiders can buy low and get a competent backup for Jacobs.
Related: Raiders Made Smart Move by Not Overpaying CB Byron Jones
Robby Anderson, WR
Just like Gordon, Anderson was expecting a market that hasn’t materialized. He wanted around $15 million per year and that is just too much for a wide receiver that has shown flashes of talent but hasn’t been able to turn it into production. Working against Anderson is the fact other receivers, such as Breshad Perriman or Emmanuel Sanders can offer similar production at a cheaper cost. The Raiders could add any of them without having to break the bank.
Jameis Winston, QB
No one outside the Raiders war room knows what they will do at quarterback. Tom Brady ended up signing with the Buccaneers and Las Vegas has added Marcus Mariota but Mayock and Gruden haven’t fully come out to disperse the noise. Derek Carr may be their quarterback in 2020, but at this point we don’t know. If (and that’s a big if) they really wanted to move one from him, they could bring in Winston. However, it’s not certain if the Florida State product would be an upgrade over Carr. He might not throw the ball out of bounds on fourth down but he will sure do his best to have it intercepted when it matters the most.
Gordon may be the likeliest player of the three to sign, but if the Raiders goal is to improve their roster, they have to exercise due diligence and explore every possibility. After all, not many expected to see Carl Nassib or Jason Witten to join the Silver and Black these past few days.
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