The Raiders are projected to have the second-most salary cap room in the NFL going into free agency, but with new ownership partners, a new GM and a new head coach, there are a lot of questions about how the roster is going to be constructed and how aggressive the team will be in free agency.
The Raiders won’t have many limitations if they choose to spend big in the offseason, but that isn’t the approach every organization takes when they have cap room, and this is the first time in their careers that minority owner Tom Brady and GM John Spytek have been in charge of constructing an NFL roster.
The Raiders showed they were willing to spend big money on a coaching staff, but will they take the same approach to building the roster?
Answers are coming soon, but for now, Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer believes the Raiders are preparing to be aggressive with their money in free agency.
“I think the Raiders are going to be spenders. Tom Brady promised coaching candidates they’d have the resources to compete. Then, the legendary quarterback hired a 73-year-old coach. This would indicate that they aren’t going to waste time dipping into the money pit that new limited owners Egon Durban, Mike Meldman and Tom Wagner have promised to provide, with over $100 million in cap space waiting for Pete Carroll and new GM John Spytek,” Breer wrote in his MMQB column this week.
“The spending, I’d think, would be across the board. Maxx Crosby, Brock Bowers and Kolton Miller are really nice building blocks. Outside of that, there are a lot of holes to fill. Carroll’s going to be very specific on what he needs. I bet the Raiders owners will oblige him with their checkbooks.”
For what it’s worth, Breer’s comments seem to be in alignment with what ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show last week.
“This is where the new money and the limited owners have come into play, because Mark Davis got an infusion of money from the limited owners that included Tom Brady, and they now can go out and spend that money on guys like Chip Kelly. There’s no salary cap for coaches. You’re capped on what you can and can’t spend on players, but there’s no cap on coaches,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show last week.
“Having cash is a big deal and the Raiders clearly have some cash that they can throw around at coaches and that they are going to be able to use in the form of guaranteed money and signing bonuses to upcoming free agents. So that’s going to be something I think the Raiders lean into as they try to make up ground on the rest of the teams in the AFC West and in that conference.”
As of February 12, Spotrac projects the Raiders to have upwards of $93 million in salary cap room, which ranks them only behind the New England Patriots who will have a whopping $122 million in cap room.
And one more interesting note around the Raiders going into the offseason…
Not only do they have a tremendous amount of cap room, the Raiders also have the third-most draft capital in the league.
According to Tankathon, only the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars have more draft equity than the Raiders in 2025.
Tom Brady and company have the sixth-overall pick in the 2025 draft and they also have the additional third-round pick (pick no. 73 on the chart below) they received from the Jets for Davante Adams.
That makes four picks within the first 73 picks in the draft and, in theory, the Raiders should come away with 3 or 4 rookies ready to compete for starting jobs.
x: @raidersbeat
Darnold is the one I’d spend big on.
You would. So glad u aren’t running the show in LV! Better to try for Ward or Sanders than this overrated guy.
Mekhi Becton is a must sign. We have to address the O line. Kolton Miller looked finished.
Mekhi Becton should be free agent priority #1.
Just build ferocious pass rush like Eagles. Then better O-line
We need to acquire Matthew Stafford and then draft a rookie!
Why give up draft picks for a QB on the downside? Doesn’t make much sense when they can just sign Rodgers as a FA.
Rodgers? Are you Fn serious? Unbelievable. smfh
A fragile geriatric Q? Um hail no.
Darnold showed what he is during the playoff game against the Rams. He’s a turnover machine when under pressure. As I said, WHY give up draft capital for Darnold when we get the same, or better, quality player with Rodgers WITHOUT giving up draft capital.
But spending money on guys like Chip does not good. That was the biggest waste of money on a proven bust NFL coach I can think of. The mans system does not work in the NFL and he is still the same guy, running the same system. If Pete does not get this defense this will be another lost year of hope. Ridiculous they hired Chip. Not one other GM in the NFL was even considering him.