Raiders Legend Predicts Vegas to Cut Ties With $11 Million Free Agent Signee
Getty
Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek.
The Las Vegas Raiders have many reasons to be excited this season, especially on offense. However, the biggest concern on offense is the offensive line.
Left tackle Kolton Miller is the only proven impact player of the group. Dylan Parham should be decent at left guard, and right tackle DJ Glaze is looking to build off a solid rookie season. Jordan Meredith appears to have a hold on the starting center job; the real battle is happening at right guard.
Jackson Powers-Johnson was supposed to be the starting center, but he seemingly lost the job to Meredith. He should take over at starting right guard, but the Raiders did give a two-year, $11 million contract to Alex Cappa in free agency.
While he could still push for the starting right guard spot, former Raiders All-Pro offensive lineman Lincoln Kenneday believes the veteran won’t even be on the roster to start the season.
“I don’t think Alex Cappa makes the final roster. I think they find a way to get out of it, so I just want to throw that tidbit out there,” Kennedy said on the “Locked on Raiders” podcast. “I’m not waiting for him anymore. I’m not waiting for him to show up. And it’s no slight against him. If you’re hurt, you can’t do it. I certainly respect that. But we’re in a performance-based evaluation, and we do that. There’s a game that has to go on. The show must go on. We need people. We don’t need bodies to stand on the sidelines holding clipboards.”
Should Raiders Cut Cappa?
Cappa was the first notable signing that new general manager John Spytek made with the Raiders. The two go back to their days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While Cappa has been a solid blocker in the past, he hasn’t been a productive player in recent years. Even if he loses the battle to Powers-Johnson, he can still provide solid depth. The Raiders guaranteed $5.5 million of his contract, so there’s no reason for them to cut him now.
Pete Carroll Is Seeing Progress on OL
The Raiders’ offensive line could undo the entire offense. Miller is a proven commodity, but the team is relying on a lot of other unknowns.
Head coach Pete Carroll never had great offensive lines in Seattle, so it’s possible he’s not great at evaluating the position. Regardless, he’s happy with what he’s seeing from the group.
“We’re seeing them in practice make progress,” Carroll said Saturday. “I thought they carried it to the game. … It felt like we had reason to be confident that they’re doing their job. I think Jordan Meredith has done a really good job. … That was the competition that we really focused on to see how that would go, and I think he’s really taken that thing over and done a fine job with it. JPJ’s battling at the guard spot, and we know we’ve got a real physical guy who’s fired up and helps us out as well. The moves were well chosen, and I think we’re going to benefit from them.”
