The Oakland Raiders are heading into the offseason with some major questions and one includes the possibility of trading Terrelle Pryor to a team like the Eagles, while Jared Veldheer could be signing with the Arizona Cardinals and that is a huge priority for the team, as are free agent targets like Jared Allen, Michael Vick and Knowshon Moreno.
The Raiders have gone 4-12 in each of the past two seasons, but now they have over $60 million in cap space to work with and with tons of questions on offense and defense, they have some major decisions to make. According to ESPN.com, Veldheer is getting wooed by the Arizona Cardinals and he could end up signing with the team when free agency starts and the Baltimore Sun reports that a deal could be for over $7 million and this comes after Reggie McKenzie called signing Veldheer earlier in the season a top priority.
The Raiders want to keep Veldheer and the offensive line intact, while the Cardinals appear to be trying to strike now after a solid season in 2014 and adding someone like Veldheer would give great protection to Carson Palmer in his second season with the team. The Raiders now have to decide how much they want to spend on Veldheer and they could also be looking at Eugene Monroe and Branden Albert, while they also have 16 other free agents of their own to worry about and over $66 million in cap space to spread around.
The Raiders have a top five pick and that could put them in line for Johnny Manziel, Jadeveon Clowney or Sammy Watkins and heading into free agency, names like Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez and Josh McCown could be targets, especially if the team decides not to take a QB in the first round of the draft. The team also needs to try and sign back Lamarr Houston along with Veldheer and if they go for a quarterback, the team could use Pryor or Matt McGloin as trade bait for possible draft picks.
Pro Bowl fullback Marcel Reece said the team should be "fearless" and with the team able to spend a ton of money, they have the chance to start bringing in some free agents. The team is likely to bring back Charles Woodson, while Darren McFadden is likely gone unless he takes some less money, while Rashad Jennings could come back after he led the team in rushing last season.
McFadden has been hurt every year he has been in the league and now that he is a free agent he is likely gone, as he has had one year of over 1,000 yards and with McKenzie looking to cut bigger contracts out after last time around, he's likely moving on. The team could look at Ben Tate and others to take over, while Jennings is a solid option and either way they should be looking for a veteran quarterback, as that could be a backup to Pryor or McGloin or whoever they bring in from the draft. The team has plenty of options at QB this season, as the class in the draft is deep and names like McCown and Sanchez could be options if the Jets cut the quarterback.
