Oakland Raiders: Cutting James Jones Doesn’t Make Sense

By Jonathan George | May 8, 2015

According to reports from Bill Williamson of ESPN, the Oakland Raiders cut wide receiver James Jones Tuesday afternoon. Jones apparently tweeted as much earlier this week as well, apparently confirming the reports from league sources to ESPN. The move will add a little over 3 million dollars to Oakland’s cap space, which at the moment is estimated to be near 20 million.

With the recent additions of receivers Michael Crabtree through free agency and Amari Cooper in the draft, many fans of the silver and black might not be surprised by the move. After all, there can obviously only be so many spots for so many players on the team, and if the Raiders truly had no intention of allowing Jones to compete for a roster spot, why not give him the maximum amount of time to find a new home this upcoming season? And while that kind of logic from Reggie McKenzie and Co. can certainly be applauded, the move seems to defy logic for a number of reasons.

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First of all, while Jones hasn’t been the definition of a true NFL #1 receiver, he isn’t exactly chopped liver either. He led Oakland last year with 73 receptions and six touchdowns catches. Considering he was playing with a rookie quarterback the entire season, these aren’t bad numbers.

It could easily be argued that leaving Jones on the team as a #2 or a slot receiver is worth $3 million a season, especially when you look at his 2014 numbers versus his apparent replacement, Crabtree. Crabtree pulled in five less catches and two less touchdowns with a much more experienced quarterback in San Francisco, while the receiving yards they had are almost the same (698 for Crabtree to 666 for Jones).

Secondly, the Raiders aren’t exactly hurting for cap space. With the aforementioned $20 million in wiggle room to sign draft picks and even a late veteran cut after camp, Oakland didn’t need to make this move financially. Again, the argument that money spent on a lost cause is money wasted makes good sense. But Jones was not a free agent bust or too highly priced to keep around. If that is the Raiders rationale for cutting Jones, it would seem to be without merit.

Lastly, even if the Raiders didn’t plan to keep Jones, there would be plenty of time to cut or attempt to trade him and still give Jones plenty of time to play in 2015. What if Crabtree goes down in the preseason? Or Cooper progresses slower than expected? Jones is the perfect insurance policy if still on the team: Oakland knows what they have in him and could potentially garner a day 2 draft pick from a team needy at the wide receiver position during training camp.

While I give McKenzie and the Raiders management high marks for allowing Jones to explore as much of free agency as possible, the decision to let him go now flat-out hurts the team. Sure Jones was on the older side compared the rest of the Raiders receivers at 31, but a youth movement can have its drawbacks when a team gets into a critical situation or drive.

Oakland has essentially cut the one known commodity it has at the starting receiver position with the hopes that the two unknown’s they have brought in work out. While the odds of that happening are fairly high, they aren’t 100%, and in today’s NFL some gambles can cost a team down the road. McKenzie and the rest of the Raiders faithful hope in this situation the gamble pays off.

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