When the Raiders released veteran defensive tackle Antonio Smith Tuesday, it was a bit surprising.
Smith, after all, had started every game in 2014 and, as ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson noted, “was considered a leader on the team.” Even though the Raiders signed free agent Dan Williams and have young Justin Ellis at the tackles, Smith was considered a candidate to be a third tackle for 2015.
But with a price tag of $4 million (against the cap) in 2015 – and with unimpressive numbers of 20 tackles and three sacks – GM Reggie McKenzie decided to cut the 33-year-old Smith loose Tuesday.
For some Raiders observers, it was yet another sign that McKenzie’s free-agent class of a year ago was a disaster. Though McKenzie has stocked the roster this off season with young veterans in their 20s, last year’s crop was filled with 30somethings with recognizable names – but on the downhill side of their careers.
Smith joins defensive end LaMarr Woodley, running back Maurice Jones-Drew and quarterback Matt Schaub (acquired in a trade, not free agency) as high-priced, too-old players acquired last season that have now been released or have retired.
Wrote Marc Sessler of NFL.com: “It’s another reminder of McKenzie’s gaffe-prone movements during a 2014 off season that saw him overpay for a rash of over-the-hill veterans.”
The Raiders still have plenty of money to spend on free agents – or by taking on expensive talent in a trade – with the draft still coming up on April 30, so the extra salary-cap space earned by releasing Smith will give McKenzie even further spending room. It seems certain that at some point McKenzie will acquire another defensive tackle – probably much younger – to fill Smith’s role.
