FSM Presents: Raiders Free Agency 2021

FSM Presents: Raiders Free Agency 2021

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The NFL’s new year officially kicked off Wednesday at 1 p.m PT and that meant free agency kicked off for the Raiders and the rest of the NFL.  The Silver and Black were busy all day and that continued throughout the days come.

 

Franchise Sports Media will do a daily recap of all the Raiders offseason moves during the start of the NFL new year. On Thursday, the NFL announced that it has signed long-term agreements with media partners Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX, and NBC for the distribution of NFL games, the industry’s most valuable content, over television and digital platforms, as well as additional media rights. The media rights deal for $110 billion over the next 11 years, starting in 2021.

How does this affect the Raiders? It’s simple, the salary cap is going to jump up next season, so the way the Raiders structure contracts this year will have a direct correlation to the new salary cap.

Towards the bottom of this article there is a live update as to who the Raiders signed, re-signed, traded, cut/released and what Raiders are still available.

 

March 30th Free Agency Update:

 

On Tuesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that the Raiders signed left tackle Kolton Miller to a a three-year extension beyond the Raiders’ fifth-year option on Miller’s rookie deal for the 2022 season. He reports the deal is worth more than $18 million per season and has $42.6 million guaranteed at signing.

Miller was the 15th pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft and the Raiders’ first pick since Jon Gruden returned as their head coach. He is also the first player selected in the first round of the 2018 draft to sign an extension with his team. He has started all 46 games he’s played since joining the team and the hope is that number will grow much larger in Las Vegas.

Miller is now among the top five highest-paid offensive tackles in terms of average annual value. The deal includes $42.6 million guaranteed at signing, and the three new years on the deal, which can be worth $18.505 million per year if he hits certain incentives which could make the extensions worth up to $68.7 million.

“Raider Nation, we are just getting started!” Miller tweeted. “So excited for the future, let’s get to work!!”

 

March 26th Free Agency Update:

 

The Las Vegas Raiders signed unrestricted free agent wide receiver Willie Snead, the team announced Friday.

Snead, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound wide receiver, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns following the 2014 NFL Draft. Snead spent the majority of his rookie campaign with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, before spending the next three seasons (2015-17) on the Saints’ active roster, while spending the last three years (2018-20) as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. Over his six-year career, Snead has appeared in 86 contests with 48 starts, compiling 275 receptions for 3,393 yards (12.3 avg.) with 16 touchdowns. In postseason action, he has appeared in six games between the Saints and Ravens, making three starts and recording 19 receptions for 165 yards (8.7 avg.).

Last season, Snead appeared in 13 contests with eight starts, hauling in 33 passes for 432 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in all 16 games in 2019 and made a career-high 11 starts, while posting 31 catches for 339 yards and a career-best five touchdown receptions. In 2018, he appeared in all 16 contests for the first time in his career, posting a team-high 62 receptions for 651 yards and a touchdown.

 

 

March 25th Free Agency Update:

 

Monday, March 22nd was a busy day for the Raiders. They announced a flurry of signings that were finally official. One of the first announcements the Raiders made was that they have signed DL Darius Philon.

Philon, a 6-foot-1, 286-pound defensive lineman, joins the Raiders after spending the 2019 offseason with the Arizona Cardinals and four seasons (2015-18) with the Los Angeles Chargers after being selected by the team in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. Philon has made 54 appearances with 19 starts, totaling 80 tackles (46 solo), 9.5 sacks, two passes defensed and two forced fumbles in his career.

In 2018, Philon appeared in all 16 games for the second consecutive year with a career-high 13 starts, totaling 33 tackles (19), four sacks, and one forced fumble. He also appeared in the Chargers two postseason contests, recording two tackles.

The Las Vegas Raiders have signed DL Matt Dickerson, the club also announced on Monday.

Dickerson, a 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive lineman, joins the Silver and Black after spending the first three years (2018-20) of his career with the Tennessee Titans, entering the league as an undrafted free agent. In 18 appearances, Dickerson has recorded 15 tackles (seven solo). He has also played in four postseason contests.

Last season, Dickerson appeared in a career-high 10 games, totaling 10 tackles and one quarterback pressure. He also started the Titans’ lone postseason contest and recorded one sack in the game.

The Raiders busy Monday continued when they announced that they signed OL Andre James to a multi-year contract extension. James originally signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in the 2019 offseason. He has appeared in 28 games with one start over his two years with the Silver and Black.

Last season, the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder played in all 16 games for the first time in his career, appearing primarily on special teams.

 

Over the weekend the Raiders also announced a few more signings and re-signings.

 

On Saturday the Las Vegas Raiders have re-signed DT Johnathan Hankins.

Hankins, a 6-foot-3, 340-pound defensive tackle, originally joined the Silver and Black in 2018 after a one-year stint the Indianapolis Colts (2017), having spent the previous four years (2013-16) with the New York Giants after being selected by the team in the second round (49th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Over his eight-year career, the versatile defensive lineman has appeared in 114 contests with 102 starts, totaling 318 tackles (189 solo), including 35 for loss, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and eight passes defensed. Hankins has started in one postseason contest and recorded two tackles (one) and one sack.

Last season, Hankins started in all 16 contests for the second consecutive season and fourth time in his career, having one of the best campaigns in the NFL among all run defenders. Hankins totaled 48 stops (27), one sack, and one fumble recovery on the year. He has appeared in 47 contests with 46 starts since joining the club.

The Las Vegas Raiders re-signed LB Nicholas Morrow, the club announced Friday.

Morrow, a 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Greenville, signing with the Silver and Black following the 2017 NFL Draft. Over his four-year career with the Raiders, Morrow has appeared in 62 contests with 29 starts, compiling 238 tackles (60 solo), including 20 for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, two interceptions and 20 passes defensed. Morrow has also been integral on the special teams unit, compiling 17 stops during his time with the club.

Last season, he appeared in 14 contests and made a career-high 11 starts, setting career highs in tackles (77), tackles for loss (eight), sacks (three), passes defensed (nine) and fumble recoveries (one), while also notching one interception and one forced fumble. Morrow was the only player in the NFL in 2020 to collect at least three sacks and nine passes defensed. He ranked first in the NFL among all linebackers with nine passes defensed on the year.

 

Day 3 – Friday

 

The Raiders have re-signed tight end, Derek Carrier, the club announced Friday.

Carrier, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end, re-joined the Raiders in 2018 and has spent the past three seasons with the Silver and Black. Carrier has also seen action with the San Francisco 49ers (2013-14), Washington Football Team (2015-17), and Los Angeles Rams. Over his eight-year career, Carrier has appeared in 98 contests with 22 starts, compiling 57 receptions for 516 yards and three touchdowns, while playing a vital role on the special teams unit.

The Las Vegas Raiders have re-signed wide receiver Zay Jones, the club also announced on Friday.

Originally a second-round selection (37th overall) by the Buffalo Bills in the 2017 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver out of East Carolina has spent the past two seasons with the Silver and Black after being acquired via a trade with the Bills during the 2019 campaign. Over his first four seasons, Jones has appeared in 62 contests and made 36 starts, compiling 124 receptions for 1,338 yards and 10 touchdown receptions. In one postseason appearance, Jones logged two receptions for 20 yards.

 

Day 2 – Thursday

 

The day after Las Vegas sent their Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2021 third-round pick, they signed former Houston Texans center Nick Martin according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

One of the NFL’s top centers, Martin was a second-round pick by the Texans in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has started every game in which he’s appeared in his four-year NFL career, and hasn’t missed a game in three seasons.

The Raiders wanted to improve the back-up running back position and did so when they signed veteran running back Kenyan Drake on Thursday according to his agent via Twitter. The deal is for two years at  $14.5 million with $11 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

In his first full year with the Cardinals, Drake ran for 955 yards and 10 touchdowns, while catching 25 passes for 137 yards. He missed one game, against Miami, which likely prevented him from reaching 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. But last season was his third straight with 1,000 all-purpose yards, proving he’s among the most versatile running backs in the league.

 

 

Day 1 – Wednesday

 

But let’s go back 24 hours prior to when free agency kicked off when the Raiders were in the news, and the news had Raider Nation up in arms. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Raiders were releasing center Rodney Hudson, to the surprise of almost everyone (except The Athletic’s Vic Tafur) and taking a $15M salary cap hit.

Hudson is a three-time Pro Bowler who has been the rock in the middle of the Raiders offensive line since signing with the team in 2015. In 2019, the Raiders made Hudson the highest-paid center in the game at the time with a three-year, $33.75 million contract extension. Hudson allowed just three sacks in 3,445 pass-blocking snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, 12 centers gave up at least three sacks in 2020 alone.

The move also comes on the heels of Las Vegas cutting Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito, and they traded Trent Brown to the New England Patriots. That meant only four-fifths of the offensive line was returning. The lone holdover from Week 1 of last season was left tackle, Kolton Miller. To say the Nation was up in arms was an understatement. We all saw the Tweets, “How could Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock get NOTHING for Hudson?!” with fans questioning if the Raiders are being run properly.

 

But on Wednesday Gruden & Mayock made chicken salad out of chicken s#!t when they traded both Hudson and Jackson for 3rd and 5th round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, respectfully.

 

Hudson was shipped, along with a 7th round pick, to the Arizona Cardinals for a 3rd round pick. Considering where the Raiders were at just 24 hours earlier, getting a 3rd round pick for Hudson was impressive. As for Jackson, he saves the Raiders $9M, and the Raiders received a 5th round pick from the Seattle Seahawks in return. In a draft that has offensive line depth, the Raiders could add two more young players to build around.

The Raiders also announced that they resigned guard Ritchie Incognito to a deal that is roughly $2.75M in ’21. The team also announced a 2-year extension with Denzel Goode, who will be starting at one guard and Incognito the other. But the question is, who will be the new center for the Raiders? Reportedly, the team thinks that 2nd-year center Andre James is ready to take over and be a fixture going forward.

But the Raiders didn’t add an offensive lineman to take over at right tackle on Day 1 of free agency. This is something to monitor going forward for the Silver and Black.

 

But the Raiders did do work up front on the defensive side of the ball by adding a trio of defensive linemen to help new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s defense.

 

The Raiders officially added pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue of the Baltimore Ravens, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN. Ngakoue signed a two-year deal to come to Sin City and, as Al Davis famously said, “In the first 10-15 plays, the quarterback has to go down, and go down hard.” According to reports, the Raiders will pay him $26 million over 2 years.

The Raiders also signed recent Buffalo Bills cap casualty, defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson. Jefferson’s experience in new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley‘s scheme is a plus since he played in the same scheme while in Seattle. While with the Seahawks, Jefferson served as a hybrid player; he saw time at both defensive end and defensive tackle.

The Raiders also signed Solomon Thomas according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The 2017 third overall pick out of Stanford never lived up to his draft billing during his four years with the San Francisco 49ers. He started 25 games through his first two seasons in the NFL, collecting 13 tackles for loss, 17 QB hits, and four sacks. However, he settled into more of a backup role in 2019, finishing the year with two sacks in 16 games (three starts).

The last newest addition on day 1 of free agency was wide receiver John Brown of the Bills. The deal is worth $3.75 million and could be worth up to $5.5 million if incentives are met. Brown, 30, put together a career season for the Bills in 2019, setting career highs with 72 receptions and 1,060 yards while operating as Buffalo’s No. 1 receiver. But due to the salary cap dropping 8%, Buffalo released Brown earlier this month in a move that cleared $7.93 million in salary-cap space.

 

Here is a rundown of the Raiders transactions so far in free agency:

 

Additions

Yannick Ngakoue — Two-year, $26 million

John Brown — One-year, $3.5 million

Solomon Thomas — One-year, up to $5 million

Quinton Jefferson — One-year, $3.25 million

Kenyan Drake — Two-year, $11 million

Nick Martin — TBD

Matt Dickerson — One-year deal

Darius Philon — One-year deal

Willie Snead — One-year deal

 

Re-signed

Kolton Miller — Three-year, $68.7 million

Denzelle Good — Two-year, $8.36 million

Richie Incognito — One-year, $2.62 million

Johnathan Hankins — One-year, $3.5 million

Nicholas Morrow — One-year, $5 million

Marcus Mariota — One-year, $3.5 million (no trade clause)

Zay Jones — One-year deal

Trent Sieg — Three-year, $3.4 million

Derek Carrier — One-year deal

Theo Riddick — One-year, $1.175 million

Nevin Lawson — One-year deal

Andre James — ERFA, three-year, $12.5 million extension

 

Tendered

Kendal Vickers — ERFA $780K

Nathan Peterman — Original round RFA $2.13 million

Dallin Leavitt — ERFA $780K

Daniel Carlson — 2nd round RFA $3.8 million

 

Cuts/trades

Rodney Hudson — Traded to Cardinals for a third-round pick.

Trent Brown — Traded to Patriots for a swap of late 2022 picks.

Tyrell Williams — Cut, signed one-year, $4.7 million deal with Lions

Lamarcus Joyner — Cut

Gabe Jackson — Traded to the Seahawks for a 2021 5th round pick

 

Lost in Free Agency

Nelson Agholor — Signed two-year, $22 million with Patriots

Takkarist McKinley — Signed one-year, $4 million with Browns

Maliek Collins — Signed one-year, $6 million with Texans

Devontae Booker — Signed two-year, $6 million with Giants

Erik Harris — Signed one-year deal with Falcons

Raekwon McMillan — Signed one-year deal with Patriots

 

Unsigned

Vic Beasley

Chris Smith

Kyle Wilber

Daryl Worley

Jason Witten (retired)

Sam Young

 

The Raiders have a lot of work to do, but they did a good job of not overspending on high priced free agents like in years past. They seem to have a plan, rebuild both the offensive and defensive lines while adding depth to them. With needs in the secondary, linebacker and wide receiver, look for the Raiders to stay active in the coming days.

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-Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeArrigo

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