Outside of fixing the defense, the Raiders have to find a way to upgrade and improve their offensive line. On paper, this should be one of the best offensive lines in football, but due to injuries and age, they haven’t always played to that ability.
At this point in the offseason, it seems like a forgone conclusion that the team will release veteran Richie Incognito. His release would save $6.35 million and it’s quite an easy cut considering how little he’s played over the last two seasons.
But is there a chance that they could release right guard Gabe Jackson, as well? In a recent piece by ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, they named potential cap casualties for every single team. Not surprisingly, Incognito showed up on the list. But Jackson’s name showed up as well.
If the Raiders were to release Jackson, they would save just under $10 million on this year’s cap. For a team that is currently $13.2 million over the cap, that is not an insignificant move. It would leave them two massive holes at guard, but presumely, the Raiders would re-sign Denzelle Good to fill in at left guard.
The Raiders did draft John Simpson in the fourth round last year and internally, they believe he can be a starting guard in the NFL. However, planning on him to take the next step in 2021 seems like a bit of a reach.
However, if the Raiders decided to use Incognito/Jackson’s cap space on defense, it opens up the possibility for the team to draft an offensive lineman early. It’s a deep offensive line class and the Raiders could likely find a starter at guard sometime on Day 2.
While it does seem unlikely that the Raiders will cut both guards in one offseason, you know that Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have to be considering it with their current cap situation. Keep an eye on these two veterans as they could be on the move in the next month.
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