Silver And Black Pride
How much money would be left over if Las Vegas re-signs 8 key pending free-agent defenders?
The Las Vegas Raiders are currently projected to enter the 2025 offseason with the second-most cap space in the NFL at about $92.5 million, per Over The Cap.
However, what makes that number somewhat deceiving is that the Raiders have eight significant defensive players whose contracts are about to expire: safeties Tre’von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, cornerback Nate Hobbs, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, and defensive tackles Adam Butler and John Jenkins.
In a recent mailbag column, a Silver and Black Pride community member asked how much cap space would be left if all eight defenders above get re-signed. While it’s unlikely that the Raiders will retain all the guys mentioned above, it’s an interesting experiment that could give us a good example of how much funds it would take for the club to add several starters or key players in free agency.
Projection: $15 million per year
OTC’s valuation model (which is based on production) placed Moehrig at about $6.5 million last year. However, that’s likely going to be several million short of what he’ll get this offseason as it would rank 25th among safeties currently. A more realistic number would be around $15 million per year as that would rank sixth at the position before fellow pending free agents Justin Reid and Jevon Holland get new deals.
Projection: $9.5 million per year
This time, OTC’s model feels pretty spot on. Spillane’s 2024 production was worth just under $9.5 million which would place him as the 11th-highest-paid linebacker annually in the current market. The 29-year-old finished third in the league with 158 total tackles last season, so that figure feels fairly accurate.
Projection: $18.75 million per year
Koonce’s contract is difficult to project since he’s coming off an injury and didn’t play last fall. Pro Football Focus has him slated to make $18.75 million which feels a little high, but pass-rushers typically get paid well in the offseason and that would rank 16th among current edge rushers. So, we’ll keep that figure to avoid undervaluing Koonce.
Projection: $8 million per year
Taron Johnson, the Buffalo Bills’ nickel corner, got an extension worth $10.25 million last season. Primarily due to his struggles staying on the field in recent years, isn’t quite the same player Johnson is. But the 2021 fifth-round pick is still a quality slot corner to justify a generous raise.
Projection: $5.5 million per year
Deablo’s contract shouldn’t be too expensive as OTC’s model had him at about $2.75 million last year. Doubling that figure would put him in the solid starting linebacker range, sandwiched between Alex Singleton ($6 million) of the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots’ Jahlani Tavai ($5.33 million).
Projection: $6 million per year
Butler is coming off a career year that OTC valued at...
