NFL Free Agents Who Can Still Help the Raiders’ Playoff Push

The Las Vegas Raiders' 35-31 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs proved two things: The Raiders' win over the Chiefs in their first game was no fluke, and they are close to putting together a special season. 

After a surprising win in October and all the talk of the Raiders' "victory lap," the Chiefs had every reason to give their divisional rivals their best shot. A lesser Raiders team would have bowed to the division superpower and been routed on national television. 

Instead, the Raiders gave the defending Super Bowl champs everything they could handle for four quarters. Patrick Mahomes was forced to put together a last-minute drive to score the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds on the clock. 

With $5.8 million available in cap space, it's worth kicking the tires on free agents to add depth and address some weaknesses down the final stretch. The team has already claimed Takkarist McKinley and signed Vic Beasley to the practice squad to bolster the pass rush. 

Here are a few options who are as of yet unsigned who could give the Raiders the extra push they need to get the most out of this season. 

The Raiders offensive line has dealt with some serious injury issues, particularly to some more experienced members. First, a the foot injury ultimately cost guard Richie Incognito his season. Jon Gruden announced this week that he had season-ending surgery for the injury. 

Trent Brown's status has been a near-weekly issue as well. Gruden also noted that Brown's status for next week is "in the air" once again. He has only really played in the Week 5 game against the Chiefs with stints on the COVID/Injured reserve list. 

In his stead, the Raiders have rolled with Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker at left and right tackle, respectively. Neither has been phenomenal. Miller ranks 45th of the 77 tackles that Pro Football Focus has graded this season, while Parker has fared much worse at 72nd. 

Finding offensive line help at this point in the season is always difficult, but Cordy Glenn remains an interesting option. The 6'6" 345-pound veteran posted a 68.4 grade for the Bengals last season, per PFF. 

If the Raiders were to give him a shot and find that his pass protection isn't good enough, he may be able to kick inside to guard given his abilities as a run-blocker. He would provide experience and depth to an offensive line that will need to improve for this team to reach its potential. 

The Raiders got a big game from Jeff Heath in Denver with two interceptions. His play as the third safety has been strong this season. Quarterbacks have just a 31.5 passer rating when targeting him. 

That has a lot to do with sample size but the fact remains Heath has been a good addition. But the Raiders could still use depth in the secondary because of the amount of three safety sets they like to play and the performance of Erik Harris and Johnathan Abram this season. 

Unlike Heath, Harris has enough sample size to show he's been a liability in coverage. Quarterbacks are enjoying 25.1 yards per completion against him this season with a passer rating of 130.6. That's with him getting the start in nine games. 

Abram has not been good in coverage either this season with a passer rating allowed of 106.1. 

Earl Thomas was released by the Baltimore Ravens for reasons that had much more to do with chemistry than performance. 

The 31-year-old showed few signs of aging on the field with the Ravens and was consistent in coverage. His ability to play both strong and free safety alignments would make him the perfect third safety on the field if they want to go more toward playing Heath and get one of Harris and Abram off the field more. 

The Raiders have already addressed the edges of the defensive line with McKinley and Beasley. But the interior is in need of attention as well. 

Maliek Collins hasn't given the Raiders what they were hoping for. Only two of his tackles have been for losses this season, and he's graded as the 123rd interior defender on Pro Football Focus. Jonathan Hankins has only been slightly better at 61st. 

The result has been a defense that has not pressured the quarterback up the middle and ranked 19th in rushing yards allowed per attempt. It isn't terrible, but it's something that can be exploited by the likes of Tennessee, Pittsburgh or Buffalo come playoff time. 

Marcell Dareus isn't the All-Pro he was in 2014, but he is just 30 years old and showed he can play reasonably well in the six games he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. 

Dareus could be a useful run-stuffer to close out the season and potentially play a bigger role if he proves worthy come playoff time. 

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics come from Pro Football Reference.