Las Vegas ponied up for defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and let running back Josh Jacobs walk in free agency
Where Antonio Pierce has his wants and needs for the Las Vegas Raiders, Tom Telesco and Tom Delaney are there with the fiscal responsibility and patience aspect of roster building. The head coach, general manager, and director of football administration, respectively, are working in unison to improve the Silver & Black.
Pierce, with his captivating and strong personality, is balanced by the Telesco, with his deliberate and patient personality. Delaney is the money man who is responsible for negotiating player contracts and managing the salary cap.
We’ve seen how the relationship is playing out in real time — especially during free agency. The Raiders will throw big money around, but the team will also be frugal, too. Case in point: The big free agent splash of landing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and the departure of running back Josh Jacobs.
Las Vegas landed Wilkins — a premiere free agent — with a four-year, $110-million deal that guaranteed $57.5 million at signing. The 28-year-old defensive tackle received a $24-million signing bonus and holds an average salary of $27.5 million. In total, $82.75 million is total guarantees, according to Spotrac. The contract the Raiders gave Wilkins lands him in No. 2 in value and guaranteed coin at the defensive tackle position right Chris Jones who signed a rich five-year, $158.75-million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Jacobs, meanwhile, inked a four-year, $48-million contract with the Green Bay Packers that saw him receive $12.5 million at signing. The 26-year-old running got that guaranteed sum in the form of a signing bonus while he averages $12.5 million a year, according to Spotrac. The deal the Packers gave Jacobs lands him No. 3 in overall value at the position group. He’s behind the New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara (five years, $75 million) and the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey (four years, $64.053 million), but ahead the Indianapolis Colts’ Jonathan Taylor (three years, $42 million) and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley (three years, $37.750 million), who respectively signed an extension and new contract in free agency.
Pierce, who referred to Jacobs as the “heart beat” of his team, was unsurprisingly disappointed by the tailbacks’ departure.
“Yeah, I don’t like to see it. I made it known. A heartbeat. A Raider through and through, but as we all know, it’s a business,” Pierce said at the AFC coaches’ breakfast this past Monday. “You hear that line, but it’s true money talks, BS walks, right? And he had to do what’s best for him and his family, and I wish him the best, but that one hurt.”
While we may never what kind of offer the Raiders gave Jacobs — or if the team made that kind of overture at all, for that matter — the deal Jacobs landed surpassed what Las Vegas was willing to do. NFL teams rarely lose players they want to truly keep — salary cap issues or not. But it shows the Raiders have a number in mind and while there may be give and take, that number is the demarcation line.
Las Vegas is willing to spend, to a certain extent. The team’s four new additions and four re-signings showcase that.
Of the street free agents the Raiders signed, only Wilkins and quarterback Gardner Minshew were recipients of multi-year deals. Minshew inked a respectable two-year, $25-million pact that sees him receive $15 million in guaranteed money. The other new additions got one-year pacts: Tight end Harrison Bryant ($3.25 million) and running back Alexander Mattison ($ 2 million). Las Vegas did re-up their own in-house free agents with center Andre James landing a three-year, $24-million deal with $13 million guaranteed at signing; total guarantees coming to $15.66 million. Veteran defensive tackles John Jenkins (one year, $2.938 million) and Adam Butler (one year, $1.8 million) were also brought back into the fold, as was veteran running back Ameer Abdullah (one year, $1.85 million).
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“Yeah, I mean I was going through that process as I was interim head coach throughout the season, but it was expected,” Pierce said when asked if salary cap and roster management is a learning lesson. “There were just certain things that you’re just like, all right this can happen. You wish it doesn’t, but again it’s the nature of the beast, every team deals with it. You got to move on and move forward. The good thing about it, Zamir [White] got a great opportunity last year. We’ve seen what he’s able to do, and now he’s going to be a front runner along with Alex Mattison.”
Fortunately for Pierce, he has two experienced people on the salary cap and roster management side of the house in Telesco and Delaney in the organization. Pierce said Telesco is his balance as the head coach is often bullish while the general manager is even keel.
“It is because the guard market blew my mind. I said, wow, I need to play O-line now, I need to switch positions, boys are getting paid. But patience is a value, it’s something that you learn as a new head coach,” Pierce began when asked about Telesco’s disciplined approach. “You’re not going to get everything right away. Sometimes the most expensive player, prospect, or position might not be the one that fits you the best. And I think the one thing about Telesco, he is patient in that sense. He’s very thought out, again, he’s done it for a long time.
“He’s been successful with building rosters, and I think that’s the reason why we mesh well, because you got a young bull like AP and I want to go out there and I want to go get it now. And he said, easy, there’s another way to do it, and we don’t have to do it at such an expensive cost.”
The Raiders willingness to spend is going to be in plain sight as the Pierce-Telesco regime ventures forth. There’s a slew of players who are slated to become unrestricted free agents in the offseason following the 2024 campaign. That list includes core players like: Linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, safeties Tre’Von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, cornerback Nate Hobbs, and edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, to name a few.
Las Vegas could get ahead of that with contract extensions. And that means shelling out some coin. We’ll see what Pierce, Telesco, and Delaney have up their sleeve as we proceed.