Tyrell Williams is a reminder of Raiders’ lack of free agency success stories under Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock

As fans get excited for another year of free agency, the Las Vegas Raiders gave a reminder of their woes on the open market in the past three years when they released wide receiver Tyrell Williams on Wednesday.

The expected move ended a short, disappointing stay for a player the Raiders signed to a strong contract.

It is yet another free agent deal that hasn’t worked since Jon Gruden took over in 2018. He added Mike Mayock as general manager in 2019, but the free agent success hasn’t improved with both men working together.

Josh Dubow of the Associated Press has an illustration of the big money contracts the Raiders have given out the past three years.

Lamarcus Joyner hasn’t made an impact in two years. Tahir Whitehead was cut last year and Marcus Mariota may be cut this year.

Trent Brown is a good player but the right tackle might get cut because he has missed 16 of 32 games since signing. Cory Littleton had a poor first season with the team in 2020 and Nick Kwiatkoski was just average. Carl Nassib was a disappointment last year.

The Raiders need Littleton and Kwiatkoski to rebound big to salvage something out of this group.

The Raiders will likely look for bargains this year in free agency, but if they do spend big, it is paramount that the big-ticket additions work out. They can’t afford to swing and miss anymore in free agency.