Getty Las Vegas Raiders GM Tom Telesco.
As of June 1, the Las Vegas Raiders got a big boost to their salary cap with Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract coming off the books. The team was expected to make some more moves but it appears that might not be the case.
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders are focused on the roster they currently have.
“As the end of offseason team activities approaches with mandatory minicamp next week, the Las Vegas Raiders still have significant salary-cap space at their disposal,” Reed wrote in a June 7 column. “According to Over the Cap, they have about $34.09 million in cap space, the sixth most in the NFL. Most of that space came from the money the Raiders saved by releasing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with a post-June 1 designation in March.
“Despite having that additional room, the Raiders don’t plan on using it to make a major veteran acquisition, league sources told The Athletic. They plan to preserve that money for in-season roster flexibility, looming extensions for players already on the roster and rollover cap space for 2025.”
$34 million is a lot of salary cap space but Reed noted that the Raiders are only projected to have $24.2 million in cap space in 2025 so they may not want to risk lowering that number by making more signings right now.
What About CB?
Heading into the offseason, cornerback was thought to be one of the Raiders’ biggest needs. The team didn’t do anything to address the position in free agency and didn’t address the position in the draft until the fourth round of the draft.
The Raiders have commonly been linked to some of the top free agent cornerbacks still available but based on Reed’s report, it sounds like the team likes what they have. Now, things could always change. The Raiders are gearing up for mandatory minicamps soon and should get their best look yet at the cornerbacks.
If they feel like they don’t have enough talent at the position, they may change course and look to upgrade.
Who Will Start at CB?
Jack Jones appears to have one of the starting cornerback spots locked down. He played very well for the Raiders last season after joining in the middle of the year. If he can stay healthy, he could be one of the best cornerbacks the team has had in a long time.
However, it’s not clear who will start on the opposite side of the field. Early on, it’s looking like Jakorian Bennett is getting most of the first-team reps. He was a Week 1 starter last year but quickly got benched as he struggled. He’s only entering his second year and has big-time potential so the Raiders will give him every chance to earn the starting job.
Brandon Facyson is seeing some first-team reps and may do well enough to get the other starting cornerback spot. It’s hard to imagine rookie Decamerion Richardson will compete for a starting job but there’s opportunity for him to see the field in his first year. Nate Hobbs has the nickel cornerback job locked down but has shown he can play on the outside when the team needs him to.