It’s a little early to be talking about 2019, but with new contracts eventually coming (or so we assume) for Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, future salary cap numbers are particularly relevant to the ones handing out contracts in Oakland.
Keep in mind, these cap numbers are for 2019 – not for this season. Mack isn’t on the list as his contract expires after the season, but if the Raiders were to use the franchise tag on him, the cost will come in just under Carr’s cap number ($19.9M) for 2019.
Here are the top 10 contracts currently on the books for the Raiders in 2019:
(1) Derek Carr, $19,900,000. The highest paid player in the NFL when he signed his extension a year ago, Carr is now fifth on the list behind Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garopollo, and Matt Stafford. Aaron Rodgers will soon leapfrog everyone on the list, as well.
After 2018, Carr’s cap number drops in three of the next four years: 2019 ($22.5M), 2020 ($21.5M), 2021 ($22.125M), 2022 ($19.877M).
(2) Amari Cooper, $13,924,000. Once the Raiders get Mack’s contract figured out, Cooper will be the next big contract negotiation on Reggie McKenzie’s plate. Based on his talent, the decision to keep Cooper around would be an easy one. Based on his recent production, the decision becomes a little more cloudy.
(3) Donald Penn, $10,350,000. After drafting Kolton Miller in the first round, there is no chance Penn will return in 2019 at that cost. Miller will cost the Raiders just over $3 million in 2019.
(4) Kelechi Osemele, $10,200,00. This will be an interesting decision for Gruden and McKenzie after the 2018 season. Osemele will be 30 and counting more than $10M against the Raiders salary cap. If he plays the way he did prior to 2017, it will be hard for Gruden to dump a player like Osemele.
(5) Rodney Hudson, $10,017,000. Still one of the best centers in football, Hudson’s deal expires after the 2019 season. Even at $10M, Hudson’s deal is a bargain. He will be a top candidate for the Raiders to extend after or even during the 2018 season.
(6) Bruce Irvin, $9,250,000. Still playing at a high level, it’s fair to wonder if Arden Key will impact the Raiders decision on Irvin, who will turn 32 during the 2019 season. Irvin was reported to be on the roster bubble this year (making $8.25M), but that never came to fruition.
(7) Jordy Nelson, $7,200,000. It will be interesting to see where Nelson fits into the Raiders offense this year. The Raiders are hit with no dead money if they cut Nelson after the season, but so far it sure sounds like Nelson is going to be a big part of Gruden’s offense. $7.2M is reasonable if Jordy looks anything like he did in Green Bay before Aaron Rodgers went down.
(8) Gabe Jackson, $7,000,000. Coming off his worst season as a pro, Jackson badly needs a bounce back year if he wants to stay on the books for 2019 – though his $7M cap number is much more modest than his $10.5M number this year.
(9) Tahir Whitehead, $6,375,000. Khalil Mack will soon be on the list, but it’s interesting that Whitehead (as of now) is on course to be one of the top 10 salaries on the Raiders’ roster next year.
Who knows what the Raiders have in Whitehead?
(10) Justin Ellis, $4,750,000. The recently re-signed Ellis barely edged out Seth Roberts to make the top 10. Roberts is slated to count $4,650,000 against the salary cap next year.
The scenario where the Raiders decide to pay Roberts nearly $5M is hard to even entertain. With so many good receivers on the roster ahead of him, it will be hard for Roberts to even make his case.
twitter: @raidersbeat
All cap numbers come courtesy OverTheCap.com
