Oakland Raiders Will Have Around $69 Million in Salary Cap Space in 2014
By Josh Sanchez
The Oakland Raiders seem to always be having salary cap troubles, and general manager Reggie McKenzie has continuously had to release players in order to get the team under the cap. Finally, in 2014, McKenzie in the Raiders can begin to reload their roster with talent without have to worry about financial issues heading in to the season. According to an ESPN report, the Raiders will have around $69 million in salary cap space next season.
That’s boatloads of room for a team that needs to find and add talent.
"ESPN’s John Clayton has a strong grasp on the salary cap and figures that Oakland will have about $69 million in cap space for 2014. That number will likely change based on several things, but it is clear that Oakland will have an abundance of cap room next year as it continues to rebuild its roster. For the first time since Reggie McKenzie took over as general manager in 2012, Oakland will not have to cut players to get under the cap."
While the Raiders could go on a spending spree in free agency like the Miami Dolphins this season, McKenzie will likely take a wiser approach that will benefit the Raiders in the long-term. McKenzie is great at recognizing talent and he learned from one of the best in Green Bay under Ted Thompson.
The cap space will allow the Raiders to keep their free agents next offseason, unlike this year where they lost a number of talented players.
Once the Raiders lock up their own, they will be in position to look at the market and make several runs at high quality players who will be able to come in and begin to change the culture in the Raiders locker room.
2014 could be a huge year for the Raiders and a time where they finally begin to reload the roster and take a step towards becoming more than bottom feeders in the NFL.