Lamarr Houston an Ideal Target for Raiders to Start Spending Money

The Oakland Raiders have a lot of money to spend, but they also have many needs. The Raiders need an infusion of talent at just about every position—likely even more than $60 million in salary cap space can buy.

While the Raider Nation has dreams about high-profile free agents, the Raiders have a lot of work to do just to put together an NFL-caliber roster. When free agency opens up March 11, the Raiders may not be targeting a few players at the top of the market, but dozens of players who will be more affordable.

Free agency is still about a month away, so the combine and re-signing key free agents will be the focus over the next few weeks. There is no rush to re-sign anyone, but when talks do fire up, the Raiders should start with defensive end Lamarr Houston.

There are several reasons why starting with Houston is the smart move for the Raiders. The needs of the team will play a huge role in the decision to bring back Houston, but he’s also a unique player. The Raiders have asked Houston to do too much, but his experience should only help him going forward.

If team need doesn’t drive a team to draft a certain way, there has to be another method to fill those needs. The most obvious method is to fill those needs in free agency—that’s why general managers on the hot seat will often go on a spending spree in free agency hoping to plug all their teams' needs at once.

 

Houston, We Have a Problem

Houston might be the most high-profile defensive player the Raiders need to re-sign, but he’s not the only one. The entire starting defensive line from last year is hitting free agency, so the Raiders currently have four starting positions to fill on the defensive line alone.

The Raiders may need a talent infusion, but at least at other positions they have a few bodies. On the defensive line, there are literally only a handful of players on t...

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