Help is needed for the Las Vegas Raiders at CB. Is Pats’ star J.C. Jackson a possibility?
The Las Vegas Raiders will certainly be in the market for a cornerback when free agency kicks off March 14.
Under contract with the Raiders for the 2022 season at the position are Trayvon Mullen Jr., Nate Hobbs and Amik Robertson. Keisean Nixon is a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign an offer sheet with any team, but Las Vegas can retain him by matching it.
Casey Hayward Jr. and Brandon Facyson are unrestricted free agents.
Regardless of what happens with Nixon, Hayward and Facyson (and it could be none return to the team), it is certain Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels will be looking for a cornerback in free agency.
The need for a strong passing defense only has grown in the AFC West, which has become the most star quarterback-packed division in the NFL after the Denver Broncos agreed to acquire Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. He joins a group that already included Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert (as well as Derek Carr), further driving the Raiders’ need for a ballhawk cornerback.
The Raiders had $34 million available in cap space as of early Friday.
Whom might the Raiders look to sign for the secondary? In this second in a series breaking down the team’s top needs and targets — after spotlighting wide receiver earlier this week — the Bee takes a look.
J.C. Jackson
Both Ziegler and McDaniels are already familiar with Jackson after their time in New England, making it easy to put together this connection.
Jackson enters free agency as one of the more highly coveted cornerbacks after a strong 2021 season. Then again, he’s been fairly consistent since joining the Patriots in 2018.
All he’s done is pick off quarterbacks 25 times — 17 of those in the past two seasons.
The Raiders, on the other hand, finished with just six interceptions as a team. No Raiders player had more than one in 2021.
It is imperative the Raiders go all out to sign the Pro Bowler and solve their most glaring problem on defense.
The market value for Jackson is five years in a contract totaling $104 million, according to Spotrac.
Stephon Gilmore
If not Jackson, why not Gilmore?
He’s another former Patriot whom Ziegler and McDaniels know well.
Gilmore played last season with Carolina and finished with two interceptions in eight games after he was traded by New England to the Panthers on Oct. 6.
He finished with 16 tackles and tackle for a loss.
Spotrac said Gilmore’s market value will be for two years and $28 million.
Charvarius Ward
If the Raiders miss out on Jackson and Gilmore, Ward should be next on the list.
He played the past four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and had four interceptions. He’s known as a standout tackler, totaling 222 tackles in his career. PFF noted his 5% missed-tackle rate is the lowest among CBs since 2019.
The market value Spotrac has for Ward: four years, $39.6 million.
Others
If the Raiders strike out on all of the big three cornerbacks, they should consider Joe Haden, Casey Hayward Jr., D.J. Reed, Darious Williams, Levi Wallace, Desmond King or Rasul Douglas.
Raider Nation is hoping for Jackson. Will it happen?
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
