3 Players Who Won't Be on the Raiders Roster Next Season

The Las Vegas Raiders' NFL season officially came to an end when they fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. They are on the cusp of being legitimate contenders, but some tough decisions are going to have to be made in the upcoming offseason.

This roster is full of both veteran leaders and young unproven players, which means it is set for some changes before kickoff next year. With that in mind, here are three players who won't be on the Raiders roster next season.

1. Marcus Mariota, QB

Marcus Mariota has been used sparingly as a rushing backup quarterback for Raiders over the last two seasons. The simple fact here is that Mariota enters free agency in the offseason and will likely search for a starting job. After all, the 28-year-old remains a viable dual-threat option and owns a career record of 29-32 as a starting quarterback. He could succeed if picked up by the right team. Carr led Las Vegas to the playoffs this past season and it is clear that the front office trusts him. It doesn't make a lot of sense for the Raiders to cough up a few million to keep Mariota around.

2. Casey Hayward, CB

Another impending free agent that is going to draw a lot of interest in the coming months is veteran cornerback Casey Hayward. The two-time Pro Bowler bounced back in a major way in 2021, racking up 9 pass breakups and 1 interception. He also tied a career-high mark with 3 tackles for a loss and scored a safety. The upcoming free agent cornerback class isn't exactly filled with talent and Hayward could be offered a couple of major deals from contending teams. That'll make it hard for the Raiders to bring him back. After all, Las Vegas could always use their 2022 first-round pick to find a replacement.

3. Trent Sieg, LS

The Raiders are projected to have the 11th-most available cap space this offseason, but having even more is never a bad idea. Four-year pro Trent Sieg is set to have the fourth-highest cap space hit of any long snapper in 2022 ($1.4 million). That may not seem like too much money. However, it could come in handy when trying to sign big-name free agents and draft picks. Keep in mind that cutting Sieg loose would cost Las Vegas nothing in regards to a dead cap hit. While the 26-year-old has played well and done his job, acquiring someone to take over his spot wouldn't be the hardest task.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.