Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Big-name free agents team could still sign

3. CB Xavier Rhodes

At one point in his seven-year NFL career, Xavier Rhodes was considered one of the top cornerbacks in the league. He made All-Pro in 2017, convincing the Minnesota Vikings to pay big to keep in the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.

Since his big payday, Rhodes hasn’t been the same. He went from a legitimate lockdown No. 1 cornerback to a liability, forcing the Vikings to part ways with the veteran this offseason. Now on the open market, he’ll be looking for an opportunity to revive his value and prove that he’s still capable of putting the clamps on opposing receivers.

That’s where the Raiders could into the picture. Despite adding Apple to line up across from sophomore Trayvon Mullens, Las Vegas needs more capable playmakers at cornerback. The rest of the depth chart behind those two is made up of inconsistent or unproven talent. There have been rumors of more movement by the Raiders at the position, but nothing has happen as of yet.

Hence, Rhodes makes some sense here. He’s got the talent (or at least used to) and will come on the cheap considering his drastic drop in effectiveness in recent years. He’s a low-risk, high-reward option who is eager to quiet critics. Sounds like the perfect fit for a Las Vegas defense that needs an injection of veteran leadership heading into 2020.