The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves at a crucial juncture as the NFL offseason approaches. The team struggled in the latter part of the 2023 season after a strong start.
They had an 8-9 record at the end and almost missed the playoffs. However, the Raiders may bolster their roster and put up a fierce fight for postseason glory in 2024 with wise free agent additions.
This article explores four good but sneaky free agents that the Raiders should think about signing. By doing this, they can improve their competitiveness in the next season and solve important positional deficiencies.
The 2023 campaign for the Las Vegas Raiders was divided into two main sections. They began the season with a promising 5-2 record, but struggled to maintain their pace and finished the season with an 8-9 record.
The club struggled with inconsistency all season long, even though there were some rookie players that made an impact and other seasoned veterans that put up great performances.
They also underwent a dramatic coaching change and lost Jimmy Garoppolo for a large portion of the season.
They thus had trouble maintaining consistency on both ends of the field.
The Raiders struggled defensively to cover passes and keep up steady pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
As they draw closer to the 2024 season, smart free agency decisions will be essential to resolving these unresolved issues.
Additional Things to Think About
Entering the 20224 offseason, Tom Telesco, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers, has joined Las Vegas. The Raiders have strengthened their front office structure as a result. But now the emphasis is on improving a roster that has shown signs of potential but is still developing.
The Raiders have the financial means to strengthen their team, as they have the 13th overall choice in the April draft and $42.6 million in anticipated salary space. Still, winning in the off-season requires more than just landing a few big names.
Here we will look at the four sneaky good NFL free agents whom the Las Vegas Raiders need to sign during the 2024 offseason.
QB Baker Mayfield
The first action the Raiders should do in this summer is to let Jimmy Garoppolo go. Josh McDaniels’ departure lessens Garoppolo’s value to the Raiders. Savings on cap space of $12.1 million would result from his release with a post-June 1 designation. Consequently, the Raiders’ top goal going forward ought to be finding a replacement quarterback to go up against Aidan O’Connell in training camp.
Sure, O’Connell performed adequately in 2023 and achieved a 5-5 record as the starter. However, his performance didn’t demonstrate enough to merit permanent command of the offense. The Raiders might not necessarily supplant O’Connell outright, but they must introduce competition. Fortunately, the Raiders have various quarterback options available this offseason.
One potential target for the Raiders is free agent Baker Mayfield. Of course, his market value is expected to be significantly higher than it was a year ago. That’s thanks to a much better performance in 2023, leading Tampa Bay to the Divisional Round. Although the Buccaneers are likely interested in extending their relationship with him, the Raiders should still actively pursue him.
RB Gus Edwards
The Raiders should improve not only at the quarterback position but also on the ground game. This presented difficulties a lot in 2023. Josh Jacobs should be let go by the Raiders as part of this process.
In March, Jacobs, who spent the previous season playing under the franchise tag, will become a free agent. The Raiders shouldn’t be willing to spend $10.6 million a year for a running back who averaged 3.5 yards per rush in 2023, given his estimated market value.
Zamir White, on the other hand, showed off his ball-carrying skills at the end of the campaign. Therefore, the Raiders ought to look for a potent complementary back to go with him. Gus Edwards could be one such choice. Since the Baltimore Ravens decided not to re-sign Edwards, he will soon become a free agency. He played for the Ravens in 17 regular-season games, starting nine of them. In 2023, he also hit career highs in a number of statistical categories.
