Contracts Raiders Must Consider Cutting in 2022 Offseason

The Las Vegas Raiders have their new head coach. While there were plenty of reasons to consider keeping interim coach Rich Bisaccia, Las Vegas decided to move in a different direction.

"The deal for new Raiders coach Josh McDaniels is being finalized, sources say," NFL Media's Ian Rapoport tweeted Sunday. "A whole new leadership group for Las Vegas."

McDaniels will partner with new Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler—like McDaniels, from the New England Patriots organization—to lead Las Vegas into a new era. The next step is to revamp a roster that was good enough to reach the postseason in 2021 but not to advance beyond the Wild Card Round.

The Raiders are projected to have a solid $21.4 million in cap space. They may look to create even more cap room in the coming weeks, though, and with this in mind, let's examine three contracts Las Vegas should consider cutting in the offseason.

There is a reason to keep offensive lineman Denzelle Good around for the 2022 season. He started 31 games between 2019 and 2020 and played multiple positions along the line. However, Good also appeared in only one game this past season before suffering a torn ACL.

While it's never fair for players to lose a job because of injury, the incoming regime has no ties to Good and could easily look to move on. He's a 30-year-old lineman coming off a serious injury and has no dead money remaining on his contract.

If the Raiders released Good, they could save $4.2 million against the cap.

A lot will hinge on Good's health as Las Vegas inches toward free agency. He could become a trade chip if close to 100 percent, and he has to be considered a potential cap casualty if he isn't. Injuries are an unfortunate aspect of roster-building, and the Raiders know that they can reach the postseason without Good in the lineup. They have to at least consider moving on in 2022.

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen is in a situation similar to Good's. The 2019 second-round pick was a choice of the old regime, and he's coming off an injury-affected season.

Foot and toe issues limited Mullen to five games in 2021. He started all 16 games the previous season but was decidedly average as a cover corner. Mullen allowed an opposing passer rating of 93.1 in 2020.

With Mullen largely out of the lineup this past season, the Raiders secondary was solid. Las Vegas ranked 13th in passing yards allowed and eighth in yards per attempt allowed. We're in another situation where the incoming front office will see that it can succeed without a player.

Mullen will be a free agent in 2023 anyway. Las Vegas can save roughly $2.5 million by parting with him a year early.

McDaniels and Ziegler may have a much tougher time parting with linebacker Denzel Perryman. The 29-year-old was a Pro Bowler in 2021, and he racked up an impressive 154 tackles and 102 solo stops to go with a forced fumble.

However, Perryman was too often a liability in coverage. He had just one pass defended and allowed an opposing quarterback rating of 114.1.

Perryman also failed to make high-impact plays like sacks (zero) and tackles for loss (five).

The new regime will have to decide whether Perryman's tackle numbers justify his shortcomings. Perryman is good at flowing to the football, but he's not a legitimate playmaker. He has a modest $3 million cap hit in 2022, but Las Vegas could save all of it by trading or releasing Perryman.

Teams don't often part with Pro Bowlers on a reasonable salary, but Las Vegas will have to at least consider replacing Perryman with a linebacker better suited to pressuring the quarterback, making plays in the backfield and corralling opposing pass-catchers.

Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference. Contract information via Spotrac.