Raiders to release LB Cory Littleton after two underwhelming seasons in Vegas

One of the top free-agent signings two years ago, Cory Littleton will be back on the market. The Raiders have informed the veteran linebacker he will be released, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

The Raiders brought in multiple veteran linebackers last year and have since hired a new head coach and GM. Although it is not certain, Littleton is certainly a candidate to be designated as a post-June 1 cut. If not, the Raiders would save just $1M and see $14M in dead money. A post-June 1 designation would bring just a $4M dead-cap hit this year. Las Vegas reworked Littleton’s contract three times over the past year and change, leading to the sizable dead-money number.

Despite his production with the Rams, Littleton did not live up to his contract with the Raiders, who signed him to a three-year, $35.25M deal in 2020. After Littleton played 90% of Las Vegas’ defensive snaps in 2020, one-and-done DC Gus Bradley limited his work to 57% last season. Littleton, who impressed in coverage as a two-year starter with the Rams, made 98 tackles last season and 82 in 2020. He topped 120 stops in both his final two Rams slates.

The Raiders brought in both K.J. Wright and Denzel Perryman at the position. With Patrick Graham now in the DC role, it will be interesting to see how the Raiders address this group. Wright and Nicholas Morrow are free agents, while Perryman and Nick Kwiatkoski remain under contract for 2022.