Free agency want for the Raiders? NBA star Damian Lillard poses question to Raider Nation
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is a diehard Raiders fan.
Can’t blame Lillard for rooting for the Raiders. After all, he’s a native of Oakland, where the franchise played most of their seasons (1960-81, 1995-2019) before moving to Las Vegas in 2020.
Just like he has done for many seasons, Lillard watches the Raiders and gives his thoughts during the season, including a tweet on Dec. 13 saying the team has “the worst defense in the NFL.”
During the season, the Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. On Tuesday, the Raiders hired former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
On the day of Bradley’s hiring, Lillard posed a question to Raider Nation asking who do they want to see join the Raiders?
As of Wednesday evening, the tweet had more than 1,100 responses and most said they want to see lifelong Raiders fan Leonard Williams of the New York Giants join Las Vegas.
It’s unlikely, however, that the Raiders will make a play for the defensive end because the Giants could franchise tag him or offer big money to keep him.
Williams will command a lot of money after finishing this season with a career-high 11.5 sacks.
Richard Sherman to the Raiders?
In perhaps a stamp of approval to one of his followers’ tweets, he retweeted the idea of signing Baltimore Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman and Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons.
Ngakoue and Sherman are a possibility, but not much in Simmons, who can be franchise tagged again by Denver. If he hits free agency, he’ll be another player that will command a lot of money.
The Raiders will need to make moves to get under the cap, but that shouldn’t be a problem as Over The Cap salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald suggested in a recent interview with The Fresno Bee.
Nagakoue is a player who Pro Football Focus suggested the Raiders should pursue.
Sherman would make sense after playing for Bradley with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Raiders will have to focus on re-signing some of their own unrestricted free agents in wide receiver Nelson Agholor, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, linebacker Nicholas Morrow and guard/tackle Denzelle Good.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 8:09 PM.
