Getty New Las Vegas Raiders CB Eli Apple.
With the Las Vegas Raiders essentially out of money to spend, free agency should be wrapping up for them. A couple of small moves could still take place, but nothing notable should be happening until the draft. The team did a great job of exercising restraint this offseason and didn’t hand out ridiculous money to any of the top free agents.
The guy who got the biggest payday was linebacker Cory Littleton. According to Adam Schefter, he’s getting $36 million on a three-year deal – $22 million is guaranteed.
Raiders reached agreement with former Rams’ LB Cory Littleton on a three-year, $36 million deal, including $22 million guaranteed, per source.
After Littleton, pass rusher Carl Nassib got a pretty nice payday at $25 million over three years. It could go up to $28 million with incentives.
Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski was next on the totem pole as the Raiders gave him three years at $21 million, per Albert Breer.
New Raiders LB Nick Kwiatkowski is set to sign a three-year, $21 million deal.
2020: $6.75M base, $250K workout.
2021: $3.375M base, $3.375M roster, $250K workout.
2020: $6.75M base, $250K workout.
Next year’s roster bonus will be guaranteed five days after the deal’s signed.
Not every player got multiple years from the team, however.
Other Contract Details
The Raiders turned some heads when they signed Eli Apple, but he actually is coming in on the cheap. Per Adam Caplan, Apple is only getting one-year for $6 million. The kicker is that the deal is fully guaranteed. He’s not getting cut before the season unless he really messes up. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is also getting one-year for $6 million.
Joining the one-year club is tight end Jason Witten, who’s getting $4 million for his one season of service, according to Tom Pelissero.
The #Raiders are giving veteran TE Jason Witten a one-year, $4 million deal that includes $3.5M fully guaranteed. Max $4.75M with playtime incentive.
Safety Jeff Heath is getting to two years for up to $8 million after incentives, per Michael Gehlken.
Cowboys S Jeff Heath has agreed to two-year deal with Raiders, source said. Deal worth up to $8M when including playing-time incentives. Back with Rich Bisaccia. He follows Jason Witten and Maliek Collins to Las Vegas. Lions, Vikings, Bears, Colts, Giants were in on Heath, too.
Nick O’Leary and Eric Kush’s contract details have yet to be reported, but they are likely one-year for low salaries. If you’re wondering where the contract details for Marcus Mariota and Nelson Agholor are, we covered those here.
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Most Notable Contracts
The biggest win for the Raiders was getting Littleton at only around $12 million a year. That doesn’t even put him among the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL, even though he’s arguably one of the best. He’s exactly what the team needed this offseason and the fact that they didn’t have to break the bank for him is a big deal.
Nick Kwiatkowski was a sneaky good signing by the Raiders. He’s not expensive at all but could develop into a star for the team. He didn’t start a ton of games for the Chicago Bears, so the move could blow up in the Raiders’ face. However, they didn’t spend too much money on him, so the risk is low.
The amount of money the team gave Carl Nassib was pretty interesting. They gave him a big payday, but his career-high in sacks is 6.5. They could’ve re-signed Benson Mayowa for significantly cheaper and he had more sacks than Nassib last year. He’s not getting crazy money, but this move could look bad in hindsight if he doesn’t continue his decent sack production.
It’s a bit of a surprise that Maliek Collins only got a one-year deal. He could end up being the steal of free agency for the Raiders. He’s a strong interior pass rusher and could give the team something they haven’t had in a while: Pressure on the inside.
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