Raiders Have $93.2M to Spend While Looking for QB Options, Key Free Agents

The Las Vegas Raiders are in a good financial position heading into the 2025 offseason, with $93.2 million in cap space, the second most in the NFL. But they have hard decisions on in-house free agents, from Tre'von Moehrig to Robert Spillane to star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who will need a contract extension. General Manager John Spytek made it clear that any personnel moves they make will follow what the coaching staff sees in terms of vision so that they can make informed decisions on the roster.

While aggressively pursuing a franchise quarterback, the Raiders could not land Matthew Stafford, who signed a two-year, $90 million extension with the Rams. Their chase of Stafford highlighted their win-now mentality as they plan to solidify the most critical position on the field.

“The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of resources. Their cap space remains the second-most effective in the league ($89.716 million, according to OverTheCap.com) and the sixth pick overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Except they don't have a quarterback, and they also don't have an easy path to get one through the draft because the QB class is thin and top-heavy. And that's why they were interested in Stafford even before he officially returned to the Rams,” Podell said.

Now that Stafford is out of the picture, the Raiders are reportedly eyeing a group of veteran quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold, who made some strides with the Minnesota Vikings a year ago. Darnold could get a three-year, $75 million contract with flexibility should his performance fall off. Still, this is an uncertain veteran quarterback market outside rookie quarterbacks and the Justin Fields/Aaron Rodgers/Kirk Cousins/Russell Wilson market, which all comes with age and question marks.

The 2025 NFL Draft becomes more difficult because the Raiders have a top selection. They have to figure out if they want to start in the direction of Shedeur Sanders, whose stock's fallen, or go with Alabama's Jalen Milroe, who feels like a potential scamper despite interval play in his final season. Cam Ward's draft stock continues to soar, as did Sanders', despite not participating in on-field combine drills.

Amid an offseason that will continually entail weighing how aggressively to pursue a new quarterback against their need to retain important players, the Raiders will have to balance big cap figures with a prime set of draft opportunities en route to a return to playoff contention.