The Oakland Raiders may be the beneficiaries of Jordy Nelson being released by the Green Bay Packers. Or at least they hope so. And if they are, they likely would cut Michael Crabtree.
Nelson is set to visit with the Raiders on Wednesday after being released by the Packers on Tuesday. Green Bay will add pass-catching tight end Jimmy Graham and felt like Nelson was expendable given his age (nearly 33) and salary (around $10 million cap hit). The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken says that if the Raiders are able to sign Nelson, they would release Crabtree.
Releasing Crabtree could save the team around $7 million. The Raiders have said publicly that they will bring back Crabtree next season, but Gehlken has reported they are willing to move on from him.
There are quite a few things about the Raiders that could be draws for Nelson. Former Packers coach Edgar Bennett is the team’s wide receivers coach; Derek Carr is the quarterback; and Jon Gruden is the new head coach. There’s a lot of promise with the Raiders, and Nelson may see that.
