AFC West News And Rumors: Raiders, Chiefs Lose Their Own; Denver Adds Big Names; Chargers Quiet
By Ben Nielsen
Sep 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) carries the ball in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND RAIDERS
Signings: RB Darren McFadden (one year, $4 million), G/T Roger Saffold (five years, $42 million with $21 million guaranteed), T Austin Howard (five years, $30 million with $15 million guaranteed)
Key Losses: T Jared Veldheer, DE Lamarr Houston, HB Rashad Jennings
Cap Space: $59.9 million (Does not include Tuesday’s signings.)
Think the Chiefs had a bad day on Tuesday? Try the Raiders.
Want to know what is worse than having no cap space and losing all your own top free agents? Having all the cap space and still losing your top free agents. Oakland went into Tuesday with an historic amount of cap space and managed retain none of their key free agents. Gone is their starting left tackle Jared Veldheer. Gone is their pass rushing defensive end Lamarr Houston. Gone is their healthy and productive running back Rashad Jennings. Now also seems like a good time to mention the Raiders decided against using their franchise tag this off-season.
In response to their losses, the Raiders overspent to bring in their emergency option offensive line option in guard/tackle Roger Safford and signed former New York Jets tackle Austin Howard. They also participated in some rumors about trading for Tampa Bay’s Darrelle Revis but it does not seem like they are going to be able to land him.
Now Oakland has a boat load of cap room (still) and no real options in free agency or within to spend it on.
From Just Blog Baby:
"While it is still way too early to speculate, Day One of Free Agency left Raider Nation scratching their collective heads. Without all the “Insider Information” it is hard to judge these moves and solely criticize Reggie McKenzie. It just appears with a gluttony of cap money, Reggie may have let key players slip through the cracks."