John Spytek's first free agency move as Raiders GM only works under one circumstance that we don't know about yet
When the news broke of the Las Vegas Raiders already making their first free agency signing, fans were mad when they found out who the player was. And, it's nothing on the man that is Alex Cappa. It has everything to do with his play on the field. Free agency officially kicks off on March […]
When the news broke of the Las Vegas Raiders already making their first free agency signing, fans were mad when they found out who the player was. And, it's nothing on the man that is Alex Cappa. It has everything to do with his play on the field.
Free agency officially kicks off on March 12, but the Raiders are expected to sign him, pen to paper, when the new league year starts. Cappa was part of an atrocious Cincinnati Bengals offensive line last year, and won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. So, the connection with new Raiders general manager John Spytek is there.
But, is that why Spytek signed Cappa? Surely it wasn't based purely on the connection the two have, considering Spytek helped draft Cappa in Tampa Bay. Surely it was because Cappa was good last season. Well, it can't be that either.
Cappa led the league in blown blocks with 40, and led the league in pressures allowed. He was a reason that the Bengals allowed Joe Burrow to be hit as much as he was, and in this league, you can't be the guy who allowed premier QBs to be hit a ton. On the Raiders, that certainly won't cut it, because they don't even have a premiere QB to protect and get them out of bad situations like Joe Burrow did for the Bengals all last year.
But maybe, just maybe Spytek signed Cappa for one circumstance that we don't quite know yet.
Raiders' signing Alex Cappa could be good move
Let's say there are two things in play that Spytek was thinking here. First though, let's get it straight that the deal Cappa received was not an outrageous deal. It was not one that everyone should be crying over like they are. His deal, a two-year contract worth around $5.5 APY, is a good deal, and tells me they will allow him to compete for the starting gig, and if not, he's a backup. That's the first circumstance.
The other is that Spytek may be banking on Cappa to come back to his pre-injury form. Before he injured his ankle a few years ago, he was a pretty good guard. It seems like he has just been downhill ever since, and that's not something that I would be banking on as my first ever move as a general manager.
But, we have to remember that Spytek knows much more football than we do, and he knows what he plans to do this offseason, and we don't quite know that yet.
We will have to wait and see what happens with Cappa, but for now, we can't really get upset about a signing that we don't really know what the intentions are yet.
Las Vegas Raiders are checking off yet another box on their offseason checklist before it even really starts
The Raiders did what they were always going to do.
