Raiders losing linebacker Robert Spillane to Patriots reveals Las Vegas' free agency plans with their own UFAs
The Las Vegas Raiders were never going to be able to bring all of their defensive free agents back like head coach Pete Carroll said he wanted to. Would they have liked to, yes. Was that going to be possible, no. This defense had too many guys on it last season that the rest of […]
The Las Vegas Raiders were never going to be able to bring all of their defensive free agents back like head coach Pete Carroll said he wanted to. Would they have liked to, yes. Was that going to be possible, no.
This defense had too many guys on it last season that the rest of the league wants — Robert Spillane, Nate Hobbs, Tre'Von Moehrig, and Malcolm Koonce specifically. Hobbs is likely gone at this point, and Spillane is gone. We're not quite sure where Hobbs will go, but the feeling is that it won't be Las Vegas, but the reports are that he is down to two teams in his decision.
As for Spillane, well, he is expected to sign with Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots. And, let's be honest, that's the perfect signing for him if he was going to go anywhere other than the Raiders. And the money he is getting, which is being reported to be three years, $37.5 million with $20.6 million guaranteed, is much more than what the Raiders probably offered him. Maybe not even in the same ballpark.
More than anything, though, this move, the Raiders losing Spillane and Hobbs, shows everyone what the Raiders' plans are with their remaining UFAs.
Raiders should be set to target two UFAs
Entering free agency, it was evident that the Raiders wanted as many guys back as possible, but as we said, that wasn't possible. After signing former Cincinnati Bengals guard Alex Cappa, and trading for former Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith, the Raiders were left with a lot less cap space than they were at the start of free agency.
However, this still leaves room for the Raiders to bring two guys back. And since we know they were never going to be able to bring back all of the five big ones in Spillane, Moehrig, Hobbs, Koonce, and Butler, we can now use process of elimination to determine what the Raiders' free agency plans are with their own UFAs.
This leaves Koonce and Moehrig as the two guys they should be set to target. Koonce will be a bit cheaper because he's coming off of an injury with only one good year of tape out there. And, the Raiders love him. In fact, he is the guy that Carroll wanted back the most.
And Moehrig, who we have seen grow over the years and turn from what looked to be a terrible draft pick, to a player that you can say is one of the best at his position. Moehrig is going to get a lot of money. If they can't agree, Moehrig will be a strong suitor in free agency.
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