Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are carrying $51.8M in dead money, the 8th-highest burden in the league, while holding only $16.1M in current cap room, making this a tight and unforgiving cap situation with relief coming next season.

18 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Five starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

The Raiders hold six picks in the upcoming draft, including five first-through-fifth-round selections and a total of three first-rounders across the next three years, giving a rebuild genuine resources to work with.

• Traded away: Round 7 to Bills, this draft

The roster's clear top strength is the pass-rush and edge depth anchored by a 97-overall Maxx Crosby, while the wide receiver group, ranked 31st in starter quality, is the most glaring weakness on the entire team.

• DThigh

  The defensive tackle group is ranked last in starter quality and 29th in depth leaguewide, with Folorunso Fatukasi starting ahead of aging contributors, making interior pass rush an urgent priority.

• LGhigh

  Spencer Burford starts at left guard but ranks 31st at the position, and the depth behind him offers little confidence, leaving a significant hole in the interior offensive line.

• RThigh

  Trey Zuhn III starts at right tackle at only 72 overall, ranking 28th among starters, and while the depth is better than most needs, the starter quality is a clear liability.

• WRhigh

  Tre Tucker leads a receiver room ranked 31st in starter quality, with Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech as backups, leaving Kirk Cousins and Brock Bowers badly undersupported at the skill positions.

• FSmedium

  Treydan Stukes starts at free safety at 76 overall but the group still ranks 26th at the position, and the backups behind him are thin in quality.

• MIKElow

  Nakobe Dean starts at middle linebacker at 79 overall but ranks 23rd at the position, a manageable gap that still warrants attention in future roster moves.

• QBlow

  Kirk Cousins starts at quarterback at 77 overall and ranks 23rd at the position, and while Fernando Mendoza provides interesting depth behind him, the starter's advanced age makes this a real succession question.

• 67Aidan O'ConnellQBAidan O'Connell sits third on the depth chart at 67 overall behind Cousins and Mendoza, and releasing him frees $3.7M against only $120K in dead money, making him an easy cap savings.Frees $3.7M · $120.0K dead
• 66Thomas Booker IVDTThomas Booker IV is a 66-overall backup with no dead money attached, and cutting him frees $3.7M while the team desperately needs to find better options at a position ranked last in the league.Frees $3.7M · $0 dead
• 78Malcolm KoonceLEDGEMalcolm Koonce is the second-string left edge at 78 overall but carries $5.8M in dead money, meaning releasing him costs more than it saves at $5.3M freed, so the decision depends entirely on whether those savings justify taking the dead-cap hit.Frees $5.3M · $5.8M dead
• 71Isaiah Pola-MaoFSIsaiah Pola-Mao is the backup free safety at 71 overall with $1.1M in dead money, and his release frees $3.3M at a position where the team is already carrying a need and can redirect those funds more productively.Frees $3.3M · $1.1M dead
• 62Tristin McCollumFSTristin McCollum is a 62-overall third-string free safety with zero dead money attached, and cutting him recovers $1.1M with no cap penalty whatsoever.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

The Raiders have genuine building blocks in Maxx Crosby, Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty, and Tyler Linderbaum, but the franchise is in a fragile spot that demands careful management. Kirk Cousins is entering the late stage of his career, and the receiving corps ranked near the bottom of the league gives him almost nothing to work with outside of Bowers. The offensive line has elite pieces at left tackle and center but is badly exposed at left guard and right tackle. Defensively, Crosby remains a force, but the defensive tackle unit is the weakest positional group on the roster and undermines everything around him. With $51.8M in dead cap this season limiting flexibility, and only $16.1M in current room, big moves are constrained in the short term. The cap does open considerably to $59.7M in projected room next season, which is the real window to address the roster holes. The young core of Bowers, Jeanty, and Treydan Stukes gives the franchise a legitimate foundation to build toward, but the next two seasons require disciplined cap management and smart drafting across six picks to close the gaps before the window with those players matures.

The Raiders were founded on January 30, 1960, in Oakland, California, as the eighth charter franchise of the American Football League (AFL), joining as a late replacement after the Minneapolis franchise defected to the NFL. After three losing early seasons, the club hired Al Davis as head coach and general manager in 1963; Davis installed an aggressive vertical passing attack, winning the 1967 AFL Championship and reaching Super Bowl II. Davis became part-owner in 1966 and eventually principal owner, ruling with the motto "Just win, baby" until his death in 2011. The Raiders joined the NFL in the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Under head coach John Madden (1969-1978) they won their first Super Bowl (XI) after the 1976 season, and Tom Flores led the team to a second title in Super Bowl XV after the 1980 season. In 1982, after Davis won a landmark antitrust battle with the NFL, the franchise relocated to Los Angeles, where the Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII following the 1983 season, the franchise's third title. Davis returned the team to Oakland in 1995; the second Oakland era included a Super Bowl XXXVII appearance after the 2002 season. The NFL approved the team's move to Las Vegas in 2017, and the Raiders began play at Allegiant Stadium as the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. All told, the franchise has won three Super Bowls, one AFL Championship, and numerous division titles across its Oakland, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas eras.