Oakland Raiders Rumors: Jared Veldheer more likely to sign multi-year deal
Oakland Raiders tackle Jared Veldheer (68) gestures during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Raiders have a busy offseason ahead of them with many needs to fill, but an abundant amount of cap space to help them build depth and find playmakers on both sides of the ball. They also have the fifth pick in the draft, which is a prime opportunity for them to grab Jadeveon Clowney or even a QB (Clowney seems like the more likely option). But maybe their two biggest priorities are to re-sign left tackle Jared Veldheer and star defensive end Lamarr Houston, as they are both the two best players on the team. It looks like it’s going to be easier for the Raiders to sign Veldheer, who actually seems upset that the Raiders haven’t approached him aggressively enough.
ESPN NFL Nation’s Paul Gutierrez was asked in his Twitter mailbag if the Raiders will simply slap Veldheer with the franchise tag or if they will sign him to a long-term deal. Gutierrez responded that he believes the Raiders will sign him sooner rather than later and give him the multi-year pact that he desires.
Veldheer is one of the Raiders few true building blocks on the roster, and they should do whatever they can to lock both him and Houston up. With Clowney likely to be available with the fifth pick, the Raiders aren’t going to be as willing to pay top dollar to Houston. Meanwhile, Veldheer is an invaluable part of the offense, and it will be interesting to see how much the team offers him. They still have about a month before free agency starts, but I’m sure Raiders fans would also like to see Reggie McKenzie and the team’s star OL hammer out a deal as soon as possible.