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The Las Vegas Raiders have released linebacker Tahir Whitehead on Monday, per Field Yates. This move was expected and saves the Raiders $6.25 million per OverTheCap.com.
The Raiders have released starting LB Tahir Whitehead, per source.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 9, 2020
The move clears nearly $6M in cap space in advance of free agency.
Whitehead, who turns 30 next month, spent the last two seasons on the Oakland defense and started all 32 possible games. He recorded 126 tackles in 2018 and 108 in 2019, receiving an above average run defense grade per PFF but one of the weakest grades in coverage. The Raiders had a bottom-three pass defense and Mike Mayock has stressed an “overhaul” on that side of the ball this offseason.
The linebacker represented perhaps the largest conceivable savings on Vegas’s roster unless they parted with Derek Carr ($13.6 million in savings) and Gabe Jackson ($9.6 million). As of now, they’re expected to be at $56 million in cap room for next season and they should be active in free agency.
Whitehead, a fifth round pick in 2012, spent his first six seasons with the Detroit Lions.
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