It appears the Raiders, the team with the most cap room in the NFL, will let both of their marquee free agents walk, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio hears from a source that Oakland believes Jared Veldheer is better suited to right tackle than left tackle, and that the team can’t justify paying $7MM annually to a defensive end (Lamarr Houston) who is more a run-stopper than a pass-rusher.
With free agency looming at the top of the hour, here’s more from around the AFC:
- Raiders defensive tackle Vance Walker will test the market at 3:00pm CT, tweets Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland made Walker an offer, and he likes playing for the Raiders, but he wants to take advantage of the rare opportunity to be an unrestricted free agent, says Tafur.
- The Chargers are “very much in the mix” for free agent defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, tweets Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Colts remain in talks to bring Ahmad Bradshaw back, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. The former Giants running back was an impact player last year before his injury.
- The Browns‘ talks with Joe Haden on a long-term deal are ongoing, tweets Breer, adding that it would be interesting to see how a deal for Darrelle Revis would affect those talks.
- Sources tell Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star that the Chiefs have interest in wide receivers Jason Avant and Devin Hester.
- Assuming the Patriots can’t re-sign Julian Edelman, Andrew Hawkins is a target to keep in mind for the team, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Hawkins received an RFA tender from the Bengals, so Cincinnati would have a chance to match any offer for the receiver.
- Speaking of Edelman, the Ravens have interest in him, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Wilson also hears from a source that the Ravens will evaluate tight end Owen Daniels, who was released by the Texans (Twitter link).
- After voiding his deal and becoming a free agent yesterday, defensive lineman Jason Babin told SiriusXM NFL Radio today that he’d like to return to the Jaguars if it’s possible. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union has the details and quotes.
- Bills GM Doug Whaley told WGR 550 that “offers are on the table” for tight end Scott Chandler and kicker Dan Carpenter, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.
Zach Links contributed to this post.