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Free agency has been pretty chaotic for the Las Vegas Raiders. While they made a splash by signing Yannick Ngakoue, they’ve also lost Nelson Agholor and released Rodney Hudson. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that the team will likely retain a key free agent.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Raiders placed a second-round tender on kicker Daniel Carlson.
Essentially, if a team wanted to sign Carlson, they’d have to give the Raiders a second-round pick. No matter how good a kicker is, a team is not likely to give a second-round pick for one. What that means is that Carlson should stay in Las Vegas for the 2021 season. The team will be happy to keep him as he had an excellent season. He made 33 of 35 field goals and broke the Raiders’ scoring record for a single season. Though he had a down year in 2019, he’s been mostly great for the team. He should eventually receive a long-term deal.
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Raiders Keeping Special Teams Trio Together
With Carlson likely locked in for 2021, the Raiders should be set to bring back their trio of young special teamers. They already locked up long snapper Trent Sieg to a three-year deal and punter A.J. Cole is under contract.
The team has to be feeling pretty good about the core of special teams players. Carlson is an elite kicker, Sieg is a dependable long-snapper and Cole has shown some really good flashes. There are some major question marks all over the Raiders’ roster but special teams appears like it will be set for years to come.
Will Raiders Bring Back Other Players?
As free agency is in its early stages, it’s clear the Raiders are playing things really slowly, especially when it comes to players who with the team last year. Denzelle Good, Nicholas Morrow and Johnathan Hankins are all names the team should want to keep. However, there’s been no progress on a potential return for any of them.
Based on how the team has tackled free agency thus far, they are trying to shake things up. The Raiders have been to the playoffs one time since 2002 and it doesn’t take an expert to realize that Jon Gruden’s return to the team has been a failure so far. Las Vegas still has plenty of good players on the roster but they don’t appear to be making a big push to bring back players from last season.
This Raiders team is poised to look very different in 2021. Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock have to be feeling a ton of pressure right now. Owner Mark Davis is patient but even he has his limits. Another season without a playoff berth could result in Davis exerting more of his own power. Mayock especially should be feeling the heat. He’ll get the axe before Gruden does. Things aren’t looking great in Las Vegas right now but maybe the team has a few more tricks up their sleeve.
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