Gabe Jackson - He makes 9 million next year and has been very bad this season. He's obviously still working his way back in shape after injury. But being so often injured will put his job in danger this offseason. Zach Martin makes 14 million & Brooks from Philly 15 million. Thats top guard salary. 9 million isn't super terrible if Mayock believes Gabe can bounce back to his high level bullying. The thinking would have to be "why open up another hole on the OL when you have Richie Incognito as a FA" (who is one headbutt away from being out of the league.) Interior OL moves will be dicey this offseason. No dead cap money tho if Gabe gone, just another need to fill. Jacksons future will likely depend on his play the rest of the season IMO. If he can look good down the stretch and get back too healthy he might stick. If he gets injured or keeps getting beat he's getting cut or traded (unlikely) I don't know if the Raiders need his $ for other players enough BUT
Prediction: Cut
LaMarcus Joyner - Mayock can move on with no dead cap space. His play hasn't lived up to the contract. I think Joyner is a good player when used right but I could see him being replaced. He is due 4.6 million with an 8 million bonus = 12 million in cap space. His only chance of survival is this horrid secondary. Abram coming off injury and Worley a FA. Joyner would be useful at FS and NCB if he wasn't tasked with covering larger opponents every game. Gonna be hard to hide our little DB's like Abram, Joyner AND Kujo (who is a FA) I think Joyner will be dismissed and replaced with someone cheaper and younger moving forward. He is a leader in the locker room tho, so you never know.
Prediction: Cut
Derek Carr - Carr is a slightly above average NFL QB. And thats regular season only. I think we all have serious concerns how he would perform against star QB's in the playoffs and beyond. He has never shown the ability to be a dangerous playmaker who shreds defenses consistently. Thats a tough bar, but not a goal the Raiders shouldn't have. When you see Gruden light up talking about MaHolmes or Watson etc its obvious he knows Derek isn't on that level. Gruden probably likes Carr very much and wants to keep him around only until he finds someone better. The Raiders have 4 winnable games coming up & Oakland has a realistic shot at making a playoff game with 4 straight wins. I don't think Carr should get any excuses. If he cant get these wins or at least play very well in all four closing games its time to replace him. Im not saying he cant go to Vegas next year. Im saying we are looking at a Tua / Burrow type. I think Carr is safe bc cutting an above average QB who works well with the HC is bad business moving to Las Vegas year one. Doing everything you can to upgrade him thru the draft can be unrelated. Tua is injured and would likely need a year. No need to rush anyone into action. This roster is still terrible compared to the top NFL teams. Be honest with yourself about that. This defense needs a ton of bodies to be average or SB worthy. The offense has some bright spots moving forward for a young QB, but we still need WR's and interior OL, back-up RB. If Carr plays well the rest of the season he should be fine. If he flops vs Tenn, JAX, Denver, SD... we may see him traded or straight up dumped for J.Winston or Mariota on the cheap one year rental. These last few games have been dreadful and uninspiring tho. Im officially over it.
Prediction: Headed to Vegas barring a late season meltdown
Kujo - Though for sure he'd be gone next year. But he started improving his play and then got injured. I could see him maybe coming back on a cheap deal. He is a solid player I just think having Kujo, Joyner & Abram is a death kiss of shortness verse TE's etc. I def dont see all three coming back.
Prediction: Not re-signed
Morrow - I think Morrow is cheap enough to resign as a depth/spot player. He has some good traits is his just being asked to do too much. Id keep him over Whitehead.
Prediction: re-signed for cheap as RFA
Whitehead - I like the guy, but his play is back-up spot player only. In no world do we pay him 6 million next year.
Prediction: 100% Cut
Worley - He shouldn't break the bank. Young and gives good effort. Worth a keeping as a border corner, maybe better used as a chess piece than a starter. Probably worth low end starter money however.
Prediction: re-signed
Incognito & Burfict - Neither of these knuckleheads should be trusted. Neither will ask for much money tho and can be counted on as cheap veterans who play well still. They should not be trusted to play all 16 games. Id pencil them in as high level back-ups. Richie will play until the wheels fall off. He is still doing great on the field. He has 1-2 years left as a starter. But not having another capable starter and expecting him to play 16 games would be 100% stupid. We need 3 starting guards between Incognito & Gabe being untrustworthy. This is a low key area of need for the Raiders. Especially since I think Gabe is gone. We may need to re-sign Richie and find two long starters in the draft/FA pool. Burfict is still worth a back-up ILB spot IMO. Again, bottom of the roster, low money salary for him. He has no leverage. But is better than some 7th rounder who cant play. This is how you build depth. He is not 30 years old yet. Limit his snaps next season.
Prediction: Both re-signed
Mayowa - I think it would be stupid to move on from this guy. You can never have enough pass rushers and he won't break the bank. Still young enough to be here for a few years. For some reason the coaches under played him this year? That might be a bad sign moving forward but Im predicting what I think is smart bc I believe Mayock is smart.
Prediction: Re-signed 2-3 years fair contract
N.Lawson, Wilbur, T.Davis, J.Mauro, C.Riley, McClain, D.Washington, Sharpe - See no reason to re-sign any of these dudes really. Mauro is ok depth I suppose.
Prediction: Goodbye fellas
D.Good & Devey - Im interested to see how we feel about these guys. Two very solid depth OL.
Prediction: Both re-signed for depth
D.Harris - Something tells me this dude is gonna keep sticking around. His play is always reliable.
Prediction: One more year
The Raiders have a decent amount of cap room. So they dont NEED to make roster needs by cutting players like Gabe, Carr, Joyner & Kujo... but good teams would pay those guys what they are worth. So maybe some salary cap adjustments might be in order moving forward to keep certain guys aboard. Vegas has no taxes.
Needs moving forward:
O: Star QB, #1 WR, #2 RB, OG
D: Stud DE pass rusher, DT, ILB, OLB, #1 CB, FS (everything)
Good thing we have money and picks. This team still needs a ton of shit