It’s official. The Raiders released defensive back, Lamarcus Joyner.
He joins offensive lineman Richie Incognito’s release by the Raiders.
This decision followed the Raiders' trade of offensive tackle Trent Brown to the New England Patriots.
Joyner was set to make a base salary of $9.6 million. By releasing Joyner, it opened up $11.2 million in cap space.
Joyner was two years into his four-year, $42 million contracts before he was released.
In addition, the release of Incognito opened up an additional $5.475 million in cap space.
Tough decisions are being made by the Raiders due to the 2021 salary cap expected to fall somewhere between $180 to $185 million.
The salary cap is lower than years past due to the COVID-19 pandemic and loss of revenue.
The new salary cap will not be announced until the start of the new league year which begins on March 17 at 4 p.m. EST.
Joyner was released after a very limited play during the 2020 season. He made six starts, the fewest starts in his career since 2015.
The opening up of salary cap space means the Raiders will need to start thinking of their strategy to fill new openings.
Free agency may be a tough move simply because of the limitation of available money compared to years before.
The best move may be to draft safety and a couple of offensive linemen in the early rounds of the draft.
The Raiders' biggest need is defensive personnel. Defensive end Maxx Crosby needs support on the line, linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski needs a consistent partner in crime at inside linebacker as well as a consistent crew in the secondary.
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