Raiders have two new options at DT in the free agent market

The Oakland Raiders need help everywhere, but especially on their defensive line. Veteran Richard Seymour will become a free agent as a result of his contract being voided due to playing time. His partner in crime on the defensive line, Tommy Kelly, is rumored to be among those the Raiders will cut this off season in order to clear some cap space. Their key back up, Desmond Bryant is going to be a free agent, and while the Raiders would like to keep him, his price tag might wind up being too much for them.

As a result, a lot of talk has been about the potential defensive tackles that the Raiders could take with the number three pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. But now, the Raiders have two more options in the free agent market to try and fill the inevitable void up the center of their defensive front seven.

The Philadelphia Eagles released two veteran defensive tackles today, Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson and the Raiders will likely look into the possibility of bringing them to the Silver and Black, if for no other reason than the fact that the Raiders must explore every possibility to make the team better.

Jenkins was one of the free agents signed during the 2011 off season that led to a team dubbed the "dream team" by Vince Young. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that team's play was more akin to a nightmare, and now they are trying to clean house of the contracts from that off season (Rumor has it, former Raider Nnamdi Asomugha may be next if he does not restructure).

Jenkins was not bad during his time in Philly by any means. He had 9.5 sacks in his two seasons with the Eagles, which isn't bad for a defensive tackle. The problem is, at 32, he isn't getting younger and his price tag may be more than the Raiders will want to spend on an aging veteran.

Mike Patterson, on the other hand, is a rather interesting situation. Patterson had a seizure during a practice in 2011 that led to his having brain surgery. Now, Patterson claims he feels better than he has in over three years and is ready to try and resume his NFL career. The former first round pick is three years younger than Jenkins and can likely be had cheap as a result of the uncertainty surrounding his brain condition. If the Raiders can sign him on the cheap, he would be a nice addition for depth if nothing else.