Jan 27, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek (left) and coach Pete Carroll at press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Raiders Fortunate to Not Have Difficult Cap Decisions

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking for the best ways to improve their roster this offseason and end their multiple-year postseason drought.

New general manager John Spytek took over a team that has lots of work to do to become a playoff team in the AFC. Thankfully, he has the resources to turn the team towards that quickly.

The Raiders have over $92 million in cap space to work with this offseason, the second-most in the NFL behind the New England Patriots. Having this much financial flexibility allows Spytek multiple avenues to improve the Silver and Black.

The Raiders are in a much better position than many teams who have to make tough roster decisions to give themselves cap relief.

Those teams include the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, and Buffalo Bills, who all currently in double-digits in negative cap space.

Myles Garrett requested a trade out of Cleveland, and the Browns may have to trade quality players to get under the cap (the Raiders may want to call about someone like cornerback Greg Newsome II or Martin Emerson).

The Falcons will likely cut quarterback Kirk Cousins and will be on the hook for $40 million if they designate him as a post-June 1 release. Seattle may have to move on from good players like defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones or Tyler Lockett.

The Saints have kicked the cap issue down the road for several years, which is now limiting them from making financial moves to improve their roster. The Bills have seven players on the board for over $13 million in cap hits.

The Raiders can create even more cap space by releasing Gardner Minshew II. By cutting the quarterback, they save a little over $6 million. By restructuring players like Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins, and Jakobi Meyers, they could create over $42 million.

The point is that the Raiders can free up even more cap space by making easy decisions rather than difficult ones. Unlike some teams, they do not have to cut good players for financial relief, which Spytek should be happy about.

The Raiders have several impending free agents, many on the defensive side of the ball.

Deciding which players to bring back? That’s another story.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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