Raiders free agency preview: Michael Gallup

Soon Speculation Season will be over, we promise, the Las Vegas Raiders will actually start making free-agent moves and the projections will be history.

But with four days until teams can start discussing contracts with players begin, we are still very much stuck in speculationville.

One position the Raiders could address quickly in free agency is at wide receiver. Depending on what the new brass thinks of third-year player Bryan Edwards, the Raiders will need one or two new starters at the position. Free agency is as good of a bet as the draft where the Raiders will look at to address it.

One free-agent wide receiver getting connected to the Raiders a lot this offseason is Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup, who the Cowboys are trying to keep. He has the speed the Raiders need at receiver and he fits the offense.

The one sticking point is that Gallup suffered a torn ACL in Week 17, so he might start the season on the injured reserve. Potentially, he could be out until October. That, of course, is not ideal, but if the medical reports are good on Gallup, it might be worth the risk, because he will likely not be overly expensive coming off of the injury.

In fact, he want to do a one-year contract to show his worth and that he’s fully healthy going into the 2023 offseason. So, he could be a good bargain for the Raiders, but expect the Cowboys to try to keep him off the market.

Gallup, who turned 26 last week, dealt with injuries last season in addition to the knee injury. He played just nine games and had 35 catches, averaging 12.7 yards per catch. In his four-season NFL career, Gallup has averaged 15.0 yards per catch.

It’s a solid receiver free-agency class, but a Raiders-Gallup connection could make sense. We will fond out soon.