The Oakland Raiders just finished their second straight 4-12 season in the AFC and while Dennis Allen appears secure as the head coach, the future of the team is greatly in flux, including at quarterback with the possibility of Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin being released and that means there's a chance that the team could draft Johnny Manziel or sign Michael Vick as a free agent for 2014.
The Raiders had decent expectations heading into the season, but management and the coaching staff knew that the year would be tough with Reggie McKenzie trying to shed bad money and contracts and now that the team has $60 million to play with, they could go for someone like Vick or Manziel. The team may have been interested in Jay Cutler, but now he is signed with the Chicago Bears until 2020 and that takes the top quarterback off the market and makes things interesting for the Raiders.
The team brought in Matt Flynn with a trade in the offseason and that ended up being a huge mistake and an embarrassment, as he was released during the year and while Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin showed some flashes at times, neither has establish himself as the franchise quarterback. Allen said to reporters that he is unsure if the future quarterback of the Raiders is currently on the roster and that technically opens the door for names like Vick and Manziel and also could be bad news for Pryor and McGloin going forward.
This season McGloin ended up passing for over 1,500 yards and eight touchdowns with eight picks while starting in six games and playing in seven, while Pryor had 1,798 yards with seven touchdowns and 11 picks, but he also rushed for over 500 yards for a franchise record for a QB and while he was not polished while completing under 60 percent of his passes, he did show some potential breakout ability with his legs. The team has a number of ways they can go in the future if it's not McGloin or Pryor, as Michael Vick could be on the market if he doesn't stay with Philadelphia after the emergence of Nick Foles, while Matt Cassel and Josh Freeman will also be names that are on the market.
The Raiders have a high draft pick and plenty of money to spend and getting someone like Johnny Football in the black and silver could be a marketing extravaganza. The team could go that route after another 4-12 finish, as they have a number of draft picks in their pocket as well as plenty of cap space for players on the market like Hakeem Nicks or Maurice Jones-Drew.
