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Raiders' Potential Trade, Cut Candidates After 2022 NFL Draft

Alex Ballentine

The 2022 offseason has been a transformational one for the Las Vegas Raiders

It started with a change at the top, as the organization went from interim head coach Rich Bisaccia to Josh McDaniels and swapped out Mike Mayock as the general manager for Dave Ziegler. 

The new duo in charge has already made a serious impact on the roster. Big trades for Davante Adams and Rock Ya-Sin and signing Chandler Jones have remade the Raiders roster and put a tremendous amount of support around newly extended quarterback Derek Carr. 

However, Ziegler and McDaniels' job isn't finished yet. Most of the offseason has been about player acquisition, but the Raiders now have 86 players under contract, per Spotrac

That number will need to come down to 53 by the time the season kicks off. That means several players are going to be either be cut or traded by the end of the season.

Here are three names to watch who could be on the chopping block given the team's moves this offseason. 

G/T Denzelle Good

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The Raiders are hardly in a position to cut quality offensive lineman. They are, however, going to have to thin the herd at some point. 

If there's one qualm to have with the Raiders' offseason, it's the inactivity on the offensive line. They drafted Dylan Parham and signed Alex Bars, but neither is guaranteed to crack the starting lineup. 

The team does have a lot of options, though. Only Kolton Miller should be considered a lock to start, but the battles for both guard spots and right tackle are going to be interesting. 

Denzelle Good is a name to watch because if he can't claim a starting job the team would save $3.7 million by parting ways with him. 

Good only played in one game last season after suffering a torn ACL. The season before that, he started 14 games but only earned a PFF grade of 56.7. 

While many of the Raiders' options are still relatively young, Good has been in the league for seven seasons. If the veteran isn't a better option than the young prospects with upside, Good could be a surprising cut. 

Edge Clelin Ferrell

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Clelin Ferrell has made sense as a potential trade chip for a while now. The former No. 4 pick has not lived up to the expectations that came with his high 2019 draft selection. 

Through three years with the Raiders, Ferrell has amassed just eight sacks. His career-high of 4.5 came in his rookie season, and it's been diminishing returns ever since. 

Last season, the Raiders only played Ferrell on 24 percent of the defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference. Unless the new coaching staff believes they are going to hand a bigger role to Ferrell it makes sense for them to shop him and see if another team would be interested in getting the young pass-rusher for a year. 

Ferrell is the only logical option as a third pass-rusher on the roster, but there are plenty of veterans still on the market that could come in on cheaper contracts. Jerry Hughes, Justin Houston and Trey Flowers are all pass-rushers with the upside to be more productive in Ferrell's role. 

Finding a trade partner might be difficult unless the Raiders are willing to pay part of his guaranteed salary. However, his draft stock and glimpses of upside might be enough for a team to part with a pick for him. 

TE Jacob Hollister

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The Raiders may have inked Jacob Hollister to a one-year, $1.1 million contract, but that's far from a guarantee he'll make the roster. Almost none of it is guaranteed, and the Raiders have four tight ends on the roster. 

The Patriots were in 12 personnel (one running back, two receivers and two tight ends) just 14 percent of the time last year, per Sharp Football Stats, and that was with Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith on the roster. 

It's also worth noting the Patriots only carried three tight ends on their 53-man roster last season.

Right now, Darren Waller is obviously in. Foster Moreau is the closest thing they have to a replacement for him if he gets injured. He doesn't have the blocking chops of Waller, but he can provide some of the receiving. 

That leaves Jacob Hollister and Nick Bowers competing for the third spot. 

Hollister has the advantage of working with McDaniels before. He was in New England for the 2017 and 2018 season. However, Bowers brings more size to the table at 6'4" and 265 pounds. With just one year of NFL experience, he may bring bigger upside to the table and make Hollister expendable. 

   

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