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Raiders Complete 2022 Draft Class

June 11th, 2022 at 8:51am CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders announced the signing of fourth-rounder Neil Farrell Jr. on Friday. As a result, they now have each member of their 2022 draft class under contract.

Farrell spent five years at LSU. After playing sparingly as a freshman, he took a step forward the following season with four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. In 2019, he took on an even larger workload during the team’s undefeated run to the national title, finishing the campaign with 46 stops, three sacks and one forced fumble.

The 6-foot-4, 319-pounder stayed with the Tigers for two more years. Over the course of his 51-game career, he amassed a total of 143 tackles, including 22 for loss, to go along with 7.5 sacks. His final season in particular showed his ability to be a disruptive presence, which led to Las Vegas selecting him in the fourth round.

Despite being chosen 126th overall, Farrell was the Raiders’ third-highest selection, owing to the draft capital given up in the Davante Adams trade. He will join a plethora of new faces along the defensive line in Las Vegas; the team brought in Tyler Lancaster, Vernon Butler, Bilal Nichols, Andrew Billings and Kyle Peko during free agency, and doubled up on the position after the Farrell pick with Matthew Butler. While Farrell will face plenty of competition for playing time, he has the opportunity to see the field in at least a rotational role early on in his career.

Here is the complete breakdown of the Raiders’ class:

Round 3: No. 90 (from Titans) Dylan Parham, G (Memphis) (signed)
Round 4: No. 122 (from Vikings through Colts) Zamir White, RB (Georgia) (signed)
Round 4: No. 126 (from Raiders through Vikings): Neil Farrell, DT (LSU) (signed)
Round 5: No. 175 (from Rams): Matthew Butler, DT (Tennessee) (signed)
Round 7: No. 238 (from Dolphins through Rams) Thayer Munford, OT (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 7: No. 250 (from Vikings through 49ers and Broncos) Brittain Brown, RB (UCLA) (signed)

Packers Offered Davante Adams More Than Raiders; Aaron Rodgers’ Status Factored Into Trade

June 10th, 2022 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers’ trade of Davante Adams reunited the All-Pro wide receiver with his college quarterback while stripping Aaron Rodgers of his top weapon. The recently dealt wideout confirmed this deal did not come about because of Packers financial stinginess.

Green Bay tagged Adams and presented a more lucrative extension offer than what Adams received from the Raiders, according to the ninth-year receiver. Adams signed a five-year, $141.5MM deal — then a receiver-record figure — to reunite with ex-Fresno State teammate Derek Carr. The eight-year Packer delved into the reasons behind the decision to change teams.

Adams, 29, said last year the uncertainty surrounding Rodgers’ Green Bay future affected his extension talks with the team. The new Raiders playmaker confirmed this week Rodgers’ status status, even after the reigning MVP’s landmark extension, played a role in the trade. Not knowing how much longer Rodgers would play helped lead to Adams heading to Vegas, via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur (on Twitter).

Rodgers, 38, signed a record-setting extension in March — more than a week before the Adams trade — but the deal can be viewed as a one-year, $42MM pact. Rodgers has since said retirement is frequently on his mind, and the contract will allow the four-time MVP to revisit his future with the Packers after the season. For all the drama surrounding Rodgers’ status over the past two offseasons, it appears 2023 will bring more. Those headlines no longer affect Adams, who will play with a recently extended Carr. The fellow ninth-year vet is going into his age-31 season.

“We had some honest conversations about my future here, and how long I wanted to play, and his own thoughts about his future and where he wanted to play, live and raise his family,” Rodgers said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (via Twitter), of offseason talks between he and Adams. “The team obviously stepped up and made a competitive, or an even more compelling, offer.

“… I’m a little biased, but it’s hard to think of a better player I played with. He had a chance to be the all-time [record-holder] in a lot of categories at receiver for us. I thought that might be a little nugget that would kind of keep him here, but Tae made a decision he thought was best for him and his family, and I can’t fault him for that at all.”

The Packers did well to anticipate Adams’ late-20s surge, signing him to a four-year, $58MM extension late in 2017. That deal came just before the Chiefs’ Sammy Watkins contract caused a shift in the receiver market. Adams made four Pro Bowls on his second Packers pact and is headed to Vegas riding a two-year All-Pro streak. It is unclear what the Packers offered, but the accomplished pass catcher passing on it to team with a less decorated quarterback proved bold. Though, Adams will still rake in considerable cash and play closer to his California home.

“I’ll say it; it was true, OK,” Adams said (via SI.com) of the Packers’ offer being better than the Raiders contract he eventually signed. “But, like I said, there’s more that goes into it. Family is a big part of it for me, so geographically being here it makes it a lot easier for me to stay connected to my family year round. This isn’t Year 2. I’m not necessarily trying to ‘fight for a job’ or anything like that to where you gotta do what you gotta do to stay out there.

“I had the choice, and the choice was for me to come here and raise my family on the West Coast and come out here and have some fun in the sun. It’s hard to explain.”

Derek Carr‘s older brother, David, said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show that his brother and Adams had been trying to reunite for years, noting “a couple years ago years ago they were really close to making that happen,” via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. Derek Carr pushing for Adams is unsurprising, given the Raiders’ receiver turnover and missteps in recent years. The Raiders will throw out an Adams-Hunter Renfrow–Darren Waller trio, while the Packers are left with questions regarding their pass-catching hierarchy.

Watkins is now one of the players the Packers hope can collectively replace Adams, with second-round pick Christian Watson in this mix as well. Green Bay has not ruled out adding another veteran at the position. Given Rodgers’ year-to-year status, acquiring another vet would make sense for the NFC contenders.

Raiders, Denzel Perryman Discussing Deal

June 10th, 2022 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Multiple teams passed on deploying Denzel Perryman in 2021. The Chargers opted not to re-sign the veteran linebacker, and the Panthers traded him just months after adding him as a free agent. Perryman found his footing again with the Raiders.

Playing a career-high 863 defensive snaps, the former second-round pick turned in his most productive season in his first Las Vegas campaign. The Raiders are changing defensive schemes again, replacing longtime Perryman coordinator Gus Bradley with Patrick Graham. But they are interested in another Perryman contract, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). The sides have discussed a new deal.

[RELATED: Raiders Extend WR Hunter Renfrow]

Tied to the two-year, $6.1MM contract he signed with the Panthers, the 29-year-old linebacker is set to make just $1.1MM in base salary this season. By virtue of their designating Carl Nassib and two-year linebacker starter Cory Littleton as post-June 1 cuts, the Raiders have come into some money. Their $22.5MM in available funds currently ranks third in the NFL.

Perryman made 154 tackles last season, topping his previous career-high total (set during his rookie season in 2015) by a cool 81. The Bolts re-signed Perryman in 2019, giving him a two-year deal worth $12MM. But he mostly worked in a part-time role during that contract. Injuries played a part in Perryman’s stock slipping as a Charger, but he played a career-high 15 games last season. Pro Football Focus did not view Perryman as one of last season’s better linebackers, but the veteran second-level defender earned a Pro Bowl bid as an alternate.

The Raiders added Jayon Brown, Kenny Young and Micah Kiser at inside linebacker this offseason, largely dismantling their 2021 setup outside of Perryman. The team cut Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski and did not re-sign K.J. Wright. Perryman played for Bradley for the past five seasons, with the veteran coordinator moving from Los Angeles to Vegas last year.

The Dave Ziegler–Josh McDaniels regime has not been shy about extensions for holdover players, however. The new Vegas power brokers have authorized extensions for Renfrow, Maxx Crosby and Derek Carr this offseason. Darren Waller may be on the docket, too, with Fowler indicating the Pro Bowl tight end is a priority as well. Waller will certainly cost far more to extend than Perryman.

Raiders, Hunter Renfrow Agree To Extension

June 10th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Adam La Rose

In an offseason full of big-money deals, the Raiders have taken care of another important piece of business. The team is signing receiver Hunter Renfrow to a two-year, $32MM extension, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The deal includes $21MM in guaranteed money. 

Renfrow, 26, was a steady presence in the Raiders’ passing game during his first two seasons with the team. Despite only making 10 starts, he totalled 105 receptions, 1,261 yards and six touchdowns during that span. His ability to return to the form showed in his rookie campaign (which involved a punctured lung) in 2020 was noteworthy, but few would have expected the performance he delivered this past year.

Taking on a larger workload in a passing game dominated by tight end Darren Waller, the Clemson product took a major step forward in 2021. In no small part due to the time missed by the former, Waller comfortably led the team in receptions (103), yards (1,038) and touchdowns (nine). Those numbers helped lead the team to the playoffs, and earned him a Pro Bowl nod.

From a financial perspective, that production also made the former fifth-rounder a logical extension candidate. He has one year remaining on his rookie contract, which will pay him just over $2.5MM. This new pact will represent quite the raise, as well as a willingness from new general manager Dave Ziegler to make significant commitments to the team’s current offensive core. The Raiders have signed quarterback Derek Carr to lucrative new deal, and paired him with Davante Adams on another sizeable contract. Since Renfrow slots in as the No. 3 option in the passing game behind Adams and Waller, $16MM per year is a noteworthy figure, though he demonstrated this year that he can handle a heavy workload if necessary.

With each of their top pass-catchers now under contract for multiple years, the Raiders are in line to build upon last year’s success, and remain competitive in the AFC West for at least the short-term future.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 6/8/22

June 8th, 2022 at 9:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s late-round draft pick signings:

Las Vegas Raiders

White had productive sophomore and junior seasons at Georgia. Over the past two years, the running back collected 1,747 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns in 25 games. The Raiders have a crowded depth chart at RB, but he could slide in behind Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake as the third running back (especially if Brandon Bolden primarily plays special teams).

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/7/22

June 7th, 2022 at 8:20pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor move:

Las Vegas Raiders

Horsted spent the first three seasons of his career with the Bears after going undrafted out of Princeton in 2019. He saw time in 13 games during his three seasons with Chicago, hauling in 10 receptions for 108 yards and three touchdowns. He was waived by the Bears earlier this month after failing a physical. He’ll be joining a depth chart that already includes six other tight ends.

Patriots Work Out Matthew Wright, Tristan Vizcaino, John Baron

June 6th, 2022 at 2:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

After failing to secure a full-time kicker gig in the years immediately prior to his New England arrival, Nick Folk has re-established himself with the Patriots. The veteran has made at least 92% of his field goal tries in his two full seasons with the team.

The team took some time to look into a younger leg Monday, however. Matthew Wright, Tristan Vizcaino and John Baron worked out for the Pats, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus tweets. Vizcaino is busy this week; the Raiders are auditioning him Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes (via Twitter).

While Vizcaino has yet to hold a full-time role for a lengthy stretch, Wright spent last season as the Jaguars’ primary kicker. The Central Florida alum made 88% of his field goal attempts, including two late 50-plus-yarders in London, giving the Jags their first victory last season. Jacksonville waived Wright, 26, last month, going with Ryan Santoso and rookie UDFA Andrew Mevis.

Vizcaino started last season with the Chargers but proved shaky on extra points, making just 10 of 15 PATs in his abbreviated Los Angeles stint. The Bolts cut bait midway through the season, capitalizing on Washington’s decision to can Dustin Hopkins. Vizcaino, 25, also kicked in a game with the 49ers as a rookie in 2020. San Diego State’s kicker from 2016-18, Baron has not kicked in the NFL previously. He was, however, part of the Bears’ much-publicized post-“double doink” kicking competition in 2019.

The Pats gave Folk a two-year, $5MM deal in March, making him the heavy favorite to enter the season as the Pats’ kicker. Folk, 37, stabilized New England’s briefly unsteady post-Stephen Gostkowski kicker spot in 2019 and finished last season going 36-for-39 — including 11-for-11 from 40-49 yards — on field goal efforts. Folk did miss five PATs (42-for-47). Folk, who did not kick in 2018 and spent part of 2019 in the Alliance of American Football, is tied to a $2.2MM cap number in 2022.

Like Folk, Daniel Carlson is signed to an extension. The Raiders have just Carlson on their roster at the position. The Raiders have the former Vikings draftee signed to a long-term deal; he made an NFL-high 40 field goals (on 43 attempts) last season and has hit at least 93% of his tries in each of his three Raider years.

Nine Teams Gain Cap Space From Post-June 1 Cuts

June 2nd, 2022 at 3:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although early June no longer serves as a stretch in which a wave of veterans are released for cap-saving purposes, June 2 still serves as an important calendar date for certain teams annually. Nine teams qualify as beneficiaries this year.

Eleven players were designated as post-June 1 cuts this year, via CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. Due to a longstanding CBA provision, teams that designate players as post-June 1 releases see the dead-money burden lessened for that year. Teams can designate up to two players as post-June 1 releases each year.

Here are 2022’s post-June 1 cuts, along with the belated cap savings the teams picked up Thursday:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

As detailed in PFR’s glossary, post-June 1 cuts spread dead-money hits over two years. These teams will be taking on dead money this year and next. A few of the 2023 hits are substantial, but the league’s cap-space hierarchy changed significantly Thursday as well.

Because of multiple restructures, Raiders will carry $9.9MM in Littleton dead money next year. The Cowboys will take on $8.7MM in 2023 for cutting Collins, while the Titans will be hit with $8.4MM for their Jones release. Cleveland, which just gave David Njoku a $14.2MM-per-year deal, will carry a $7.5MM dead-money cost next year due to shedding Hooper’s eight-figure-AAV deal early. The Eagles will be tagged with $11.5MM for their Cox cut, with Corry noting that is the net difference because of a $3.2MM salary cap credit regarding Cox’s 2022 bonus proration. Philadelphia re-signed the perennial Pro Bowler on a one-year, $14MM deal.

Hooper’s release pushes Cleveland’s cap space to beyond $40MM; the Browns’ overall cap-space edge is now a whopping $15MM. That should help the team address multiple needs ahead of training camp. Other teams have more options now, too. As of Thursday, the Raiders hold the NFL’s third-most cap space ($22.5MM, per OverTheCap). The $10MM the Cowboys saved moves them up to fourth in cap space ($22.49MM), while the Bears ($22.2MM), Commanders ($18.4MM) and Seahawks ($17MM) now sit fifth, sixth and seventh.

A handful of this year’s post-June 1 cut crop joined Cox in taking advantage of the modern setup, which allows these cap casualties to become free agents immediately — rather than waiting until June to hit the market. In place since the 2006 CBA, this adjustment let veterans loose early while keeping their cap figures on teams’ payrolls through May. Collins quickly joined the Bengals, while Littleton landed with the Panthers, Hooper signed with the Titans, and Phillips returned to the Bills. The remainder of this group remains unsigned. The savings this lot of teams inherited Thursday may help some of these players’ causes in free agency.

Extension Candidate: Darren Waller

May 30th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Sam Robinson

Tied to a below-market extension at a position that appears underpaid relative to the value its top talents provide, Darren Waller is playing on one of the NFL’s most team-friendly contracts. Going into his age-30 season, the Raiders tight end is running short on time to cash in.

The veteran pass catcher confirmed his agent and the Raiders have discussed this contract — a four-year, $29.8MM deal signed in 2019 — this offseason. Following David Njoku‘s four-year, $56.75MM deal, Waller’s status was bound to come up. Because of contracts handed out to Njoku and other less accomplished tight ends this offseason, Waller now resides as the NFL’s 17th-highest-paid tight end. He is due nonguaranteed base salaries of $6.25MM in 2022 and ’23.

“My agent is working on that,” Waller said during an appearance on the Ross Tucker Podcast (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk). “I understand it, but I know if I focus on it too much, it could take away from my job and learning a new system and just continuing to try to elevate and take care of my body in the right way. I try to focus on those things and let my agent handle that. When decisions need to be made, decisions need to be made.”

The Raiders possess the leverage of having Waller under contract for two more years. They just gave Davante Adams a monster extension and have Hunter Renfrow entering a contract year. At 26, Renfrow is three years younger than Waller. But tight ends with Waller’s pass-catching pedigree are a rarer commodity than effective slot receivers. Waller is one of only eight tight ends in NFL history to have compiled two 1,100-yard years. Current tight end salary kingpin George Kittle is not even on that list.

That said, Josh McDaniels has contributed plenty to Renfrow’s position, seeing Wes Welker turn into an All-Pro and Julian Edelman grow into a quality receiver-turned-Super Bowl MVP under his watch. This might not be an either/or situation between Waller and Renfrow, but considering Adams’ contract and Derek Carr now attached to a short-term deal averaging $40.1MM annually, a Waller-or-Renfrow scenario is a situation to monitor.

Waller has said the right things and has not made this a major issue. He shot down a trade rumor in April, but a report at that time indicated the Raiders are likely a year away from addressing Waller’s deal. That may be too much for Waller to stomach. Although the midcareer breakout player is coming off an 11-game season, he has been the Raiders’ aerial centerpiece since 2019, when the former Baltimore wide receiver’s belated Oakland emergence helped a passing game reeling from the Antonio Brown fiasco.

Players like Will Dissly and C.J. Uzomah, both inking $8MM-per-year deals, each surpassed Waller in AAV this offseason. Njoku’s deal — a $14.2MM pact making the unproven Browns talent the league’s fourth-highest-paid tight end — may have a more notable effect. Njoku has just one 500-yard season in five years. Waller has lapped that production, topping Njoku’s best year even during his 2021 injury-limited campaign. Not unlike Sammy Watkins‘ 2018 deal or Christian Kirk‘s free agency accord this year, the Njoku contract could have a notable effect on the tight end market. How the Cowboys and Dolphins proceed with their respective franchise-tagged tight ends, Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki (one 800-yard season between them), stands to affect Waller’s status as well.

The Raiders’ Adams extension, which preceded the Dolphins’ $30MM-AAV Tyreek Hill deal, created a massive gulf between the highest-paid wideouts and Kittle’s $15MM-per-year tight end topper. That strange imbalance adds to the value the Raiders have in Waller, who signed his deal at a time when the Patriots’ wildly team-friendly Rob Gronkowski contract (six years, $54MM) limited other tight ends’ earning power. Rostering Adams while extending Renfrow and keeping Waller on this contract would represent the ideal 2022 Raiders route; that would surely not sit well with their Pro Bowl tight end.

Even at 29, Waller can command a deal in the Kittle ballpark. Were Waller a free agent in March, teams likely would have submitted position-record offers. If the Raiders attempt to move extension talks to 2023, that would hurt the Georgia Tech alum’s value, since he would be negotiating ahead of an age-31 season. Waller has moved past the substance-abuse issues that plagued him with the Ravens, and while the Jon Gruden regime did well to extend the comeback story early, the tight end market’s shift will almost certainly make this contract an issue soon.

The current CBA makes training camp holdouts difficult to wage. Minicamp represents the next chapter here, though no indications have emerged Waller will stay away. Staging a hold-in similar to T.J. Watt‘s maneuver last year is an option; it would be interesting to see how the Raiders’ new regime handles that. A Waller trade would obviously hurt the Raiders’ chances to compete in a stacked AFC West. The Patriots included incentives to appease Gronk late in his New England tenure; would that be enough for Waller in 2022? However this plays out, the situation should produce more headlines before Week 1.

Raiders OL Alex Leatherwood Getting Reps At RT

May 29th, 2022 at 10:33am CST by Rory Parks

The Raiders’ selection of RT Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 overall pick of the 2021 draft was one of the most-scrutinized choices of last year’s first round. The early returns on Vegas’ investment appeared to prove the naysayers correct, as the Raiders were forced to shift Leatherwood from right tackle to right guard during his rookie season due in large part to his struggles on the edge.

Still, the club’s former regime was reportedly prepared to move the Alabama product back to his original position, and the new Josh McDaniels-led staff is at least willing to entertain the notion. As Tashan Reed of The Athletic writes, the Raiders have been moving Leatherwood around during OTAs, and that includes giving him time at right tackle.

“Each one of the guys up front, we’ve got some guys [at] center and guard, we’ve got some guys playing on the right side and the left side, we’ve got some guys playing tackle and guard,” McDaniels said. “[Playing tackle] was a little bit of a focus of that today for [Leatherwood], but ultimately, we’re going to try to figure out who the best five are that can give us the best chance of success every play. He’s certainly working his butt off right now to try to give us the right stuff wherever we put him. … [Leatherwood] has done a good job. He false-started once today, but that’s going to happen.”

The only major addition that the Raiders made to their O-line this offseason is Dylan Parham, whom the club selected in the third round of last month’s draft. And in keeping with McDaniels’ desire to get his blockers some burn at multiple positions, Parham has been received reps at center even though he is listed as a guard, as Reed reports.

Andre James spent the entirety of the 2021 campaign as the Raiders’ starting pivot following last year’s Rodney Hudson trade, and the former UDFA held his own. It would seem that he and LT Kolton Miller are the only two O-linemen to have a firm grip on their starting jobs, so Parham is likely getting some cross-training at center merely to broaden his skills and to see if he might be an option in the event of a James injury.

With left guard, right guard, and right tackle jobs all there for the taking, the result of the competition this summer between the likes of Parham, Leatherwood, Denzelle Good, Jermaine Eluemunor, John Simpson, Alex Bars, and Brandon Parker could prove to be instrumental to the Raiders’ success in 2022, even if most of the names on that list don’t elicit much enthusiasm from fans of the Silver-and-Black.

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