The Raiders remain as quiet as can be in the opening days of free agency, with no visits yet and certainly no big-splash signings.
"We're being very careful this time," said one team insider, pointing to last year's failed spending spree that netted little or no meaningful results from the likes of DeAngelo Hall, Gibril Wilson, Javon Walker and Tommy Kelly. "I don't know that we have the money to do that again."
Indeed, the Raiders are believed to be about $6 million under the $127 million salary cap. For now, they seem to be waiting for the initial wave -- where the biggest contracts tend to go out -- to pass before picking and choosing their shots.
They definitely plan to land an offensive tackle and will sign a veteran wide receiver if the price is right. I've not heard of any safeties they want, but can't imagine they'll not address the gaping holes. Yes, there's the NFL Draft, but look at their recent history of drafting safeties -- Derrick Gibson, Michael Huff, not good.
I also can't fathom they will sit tight on the roster as is. Yes, they did well to lock in Chris Johnson, Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler to long-term deals, but remember: the Raiders went 5-11 last year and the 4-12 the year before with all three on the roster.
Some of their recent cuts are definitely addition by subtraction, but they need to do some addition by addition as well.
The Chiefs and Broncos, meanwhile, are sure trying to improve their rosters under their own new head coaches.
Kansas City just traded for Patriots quarterback Matt Cassell and traded for veteran Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel.
The Broncos have loaded up their No. 29 defense with safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill (remember him, Raider fans?), linebacker Andre' Davis and defensive tackle Darrell Reid -- all with an eye toward toughening up a soft defense.
Wish I had something more substantial to report, but sit tight. We'll see soon enough when, and if, the Raiders join the signing party.
For the sake of context, as of this Saturday morning blog, 19 of 32 teams had signed or traded for new players. Non-signers (of players outside the organization) include the Cowboys, Steelers and Cardinals.
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