The Raiders are moving into the 2025 season with the fourth-most cap room in the NFL, and that means they have some cap flexibility if they want to add a veteran player or two before the start of the season.
According to OverTheCap, the Raiders have a little more than $36 million in cap room and if they choose to make a move for a player like Trey Hendrickson or Jalen Ramsey, it won’t be the salary cap that keeps them from making it happen.
On Thursday, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe talked about Ramsey’s situation in Miami, and even though he didn’t mention the Raiders, it would appear Ramsey is down to his final days with the Dolphins.
“I checked in with a couple of people on the Jalen Ramsey situation this week and I was told nothing is imminent. There have been conversations, draft weekend and throughout May, in regard to Jalen Ramsey. There is interest, but right now there’s nothing there’s nothing imminent,” Wolfe said. “But one thing I was told was to keep an eye on that July 1st date. The Dolphins would take a cap hit of over $25 million if they traded him before July . That number drops to under $7 million if they trade him after July 1st.”
“A lot of people are looking and saying ‘Jalen Ramsey is one of their best players. He’s been been elite.’ All these things are true, but I talked with their defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver, today about the situation and his quote kind of sums up the Dolphins and Ramsey,” Wolfe continued. “He said that Ramsey has been a great player for us, but relationships are hard, and [Ramsey] has chosen to move on. This isn’t about a guy who wants more money or a guy who can’t play anymore…”
“This is just a situation where relationships are hard and the relationship between the Dolphins and Ramsey has essentially run out. I expect him to get trade at some point in June or July. They have talked to a lot teams.”
There hasn’t been any indication the Raiders are interested in Ramsey, but there has been some rumblings that they are not expected to make a move for the Dolphins veteran cornerback.
The other player that isn’t happy with their current situation is Hendrickson in Cincinnati, and every indication to this point is that the Bengals are not listening to trade offers for their star defensive lineman.
If Hendrickson should become available, he’s a player players the Raiders might be smart to consider, especially if there is some uncertainty around Christian Wilkins going into the season.
On Wednesday, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was the first member of the organization to acknowledge Wilkins is dealing with a setback, confirming a pre-draft report from league insider Tony Pauline in April.
Later in the day, Raiders’ flagship radio host ‘JT the Brick’ shared his sentiment on Wilkins and pointed out that foot injuries can be especially concerning with a player the size of Wilkins.
“He’s a big-time player. He needs to be an elite pro bowler, and [Pete Carroll] talked about it being challenging. So coming off of foot injury for a big guy, oversized guy, he’s here every day, he’s working through with the doctors, and we’re only here in May,” JT said on his Raider Nation Radio show on Wednesday.
“I’ve covered sports my whole life, 30 years on radio. When big guys have foot problems, normally it’s terrible, i.e. Bill Walton… It’s a different sport, so I will not play trainer. I will not play doctor, I will not report on Christian Wilkins injury and his rehab, but he’s got to play,” JT continued.
“And again, we care about his health and wellness and his health. But from a perspective of how much money he’s making and how much money has been given to him and guaranteed money, he has got to play. And he’s got to be elite… He says he’s doing everything right to get back here again. I don’t know what to tell you, but it’s not good. It’s not devastating. It’s not horrible, but it’s not good.”
Later on the show, JT asked the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore about Wilkins injury, and Bonsignore added that Wilkins was doing fine in his recovery as of January.
But something happened and Bonsignore said there was clearly a setback that has led to uncertainty around the situation.
“I talked to somebody last night about this and… it’s not good news, you know, if he’s not ready to play at this point… but the good news is he’s got plenty of time to get ready,” Bonsignore said on Wilkins’ injury. “The key is how big was that setback, how severe was that setback. Is it going to jeopardize anything moving forward because the more days that he’s not able to be out there, or more days that he has to catch up.”
“I guess the Raiders, and I’m sure Christian, are hoping that this is just something that he’s got to deal with right now, but he’ll be ready to go come training camp and for season,” Bonsignore continued. “I talked to somebody yesterday who said [Wilkins] was completely on track as of January, and was out of the walking boot, and everything was checking out, and everything looked good, and he was on target to be ready to go… but obviously, there was a setback.”
x: @raidersbeat
Nooo.
Overrated over paid free lance over the hill
No
Well said Greg✔️. Way too much baggage for my taste. He needs to go to the Lambs . He can hang out with another Diva Devante. We need to get another Linebacker in house. That’s where our priorities come.
Hopefully, with the new regime, the quick fix FA days are behind us. It almost never pans out and is too expensive. They should pass on him.