Early Raiders free agent targets after disappointing 2023 season
The 2023 Las Vegas Raiders were a classic case of too little, too late. After a 3-5 start to the season that culminated with the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels after a disastrous Monday Night loss to the Detroit Lions, the Raiders have stabilized and found an identity under interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
They have only gone 4-4 under Pierce’s stewardship since his Week 9 debut, but they have also posted the league’s third-best defense in terms of EPA allowed per play in that span behind only the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears. Yes, that stretch has included going against the likes of Tommy DeVito, Zach Wilson, Nick Mullens and Easton Stick, but the Raiders have also played against Patrick Mahomes twice in this stretch and held the high-flying Miami Dolphins to only 20 points.
But, despite this defensive rejuvenation, the Raiders will not be making the playoffs in the 2023 season, which means their focus shifts to the offseason. They have a vacancy at head coach and general manager. Pierce gave a great audition, but it remains to be seen if he will be the head coach going forward. Whoever is in charge at head coach and general manager will have over $50 million in cap space to play with to improve the team.
But, despite this defensive rejuvenation, the Raiders will not be making the playoffs in the 2023 season, which means their focus shifts to the offseason. They have a vacancy at head coach and general manager. Pierce gave a great audition, but it remains to be seen if he will be the head coach going forward. Whoever is in charge at head coach and general manager will have over $50 million in cap space to play with to improve the team.
There are a few players slated to be free agents that the Raiders should be looking to pursue to make the team better in 2024.
It is a real shame that Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles this season because he was playing arguably the best ball of his career. Cousins has always put up stats, but the numbers he was putting up this season directly translated to the Minnesota Vikings winning games. Cousins ranks fifth in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks in EPA (Expected Points Added) plus CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expectation) composite score. The only quarterbacks ahead of him? Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa, and Josh Allen. That’s not a bad list to be a part of.
Cousins may be slated to be a free agent, but the Vikings do not have an heir apparent at the position in tow at the moment. It’s more than possible that the Vikings retain Cousins, and he’s their guy again for the foreseeable future. But the Raiders are in a similar boat. Aidan O’Connell has had his moments this season, but he ranks 46th among 49 qualified quarterbacks that have played at least 100 plays this season in that same EPA plus CPOE composite score stat. He also ranks 36th in QBR and his 6.3 yards per attempt is nothing to write home about despite having a plethora of weapons like Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Josh Jacobs and Michael Mayer to his disposal.
The same case for Cousins could also apply to Russell Wilson. There are a couple of distinct differences with Cousins and Wilson, however. For one, Cousins has far outplayed Wilson the last couple of seasons. Wilson actually has fared pretty well in EPA plus CPOE composite score this season; he ranks 14th among 49 qualified quarterbacks with at least 100 plays. But last season, Wilson ranked 35th among 53 qualified quarterbacks in that same metric and still plays an all or nothing style that has gotten predictable and easy to slow down.
But, unlike Cousins, it’s almost a foregone conclusion at this point that Wilson will become available. He himself has said he expects the Broncos to cut him this offseason. If that does indeed happen, the Raiders, with $52 million in cap space at their disposal, would absolutely have the means to sign Wilson this spring as another potential short term solution as the Raiders figure out their long-term plans at quarterback.
