Which Raiders might not survive 2018 offseason?

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UPDATE: The Raiders released cornerback David Amerson, the team announced, a few hours after this story was published. Information was inserted below to reflect that fact.

The Super Bowl ended the 2017 season Sunday night. The 2018 offseason officially began Monday morning.

These next few months will be interesting for Raiders fans, with new head coach Jon Gruden adding unpredictability to this stretch. He has massive influence in all roster decisions, maybe the final say, even with general manager Reggie McKenzie in the building. McKenzie will handle the draft – his scouting department as been working on this class of aspiring pros for months – but Gruden and coaching staff will get involved.

Fresh faces will be added in free agency, with roster turnover aimed at finding players who fit new Raiders schemes. Don’t forget that Khalil Mack will get a king’s ransom, an act that factors into everything that happens this offseason. All that will come in time.

We might see some housecleaning first. NFL teams can start shedding players right away, Monday afternoon if they’re so inclined. Most of those transactions often come later, as we head through the spring. One came Monday afternoon, when cornerback David Amerson was released. 

The transaction saved $6 million in salary-cap space, and didn't include a dime of dead money. The Raiders have several others who can go without penalty, a benefit of their preferred contract structure, offering up-front roster bonuses on pacts that become pay-as-you-go deals later in life.

That gives Gruden roster flexibility this offseason. They have $13.7 million in cap space, per overthecap.com, but are able to clear significant room with a few swift cuts.

Let’s take a look as some possible cap-saving roster cuts, with a quick comment on each:

-- Michael Crabtree ($7.7 million cap number): Fans have already debated this prospect this offseason. Crabtree has been clutch, and effective during his three-year Raiders tenure. He’s also 30, and seemed at odds with his team late last year. That was primarily with the coaching staff, but it wasn’t a good sign he seemed lethargic in some games. The new staff won’t love that. Could they keep Crabtree, or add $7 million to a deal for a younger, productive pass catcher entering his prime?

-- Marshawn Lynch ($6 million cap number): Here’s another debated topic. Will Lynch retire, get cut or stick around at age 31? Much of that will depend on an offseason meeting with Gruden, and what the veteran wants to do after that. He was the Raiders’ best skill player in 2016’s second half.

-- Sean Smith ($8.5 million cap number): This one seems like a slam-dunk. Smith really improved down the stretch with proper use, but he’s fighting with felony counts of assault and battery and doesn’t fit every scheme.

-- Bruce Irvin ($8.25 million cap number): Good edge rushers are hard to find. Irvin counts among those, especially if he’s focused on going forward. That’s not bad freight for someone with 15 sacks and 10 forced fumbles over the past two season.

-- Kelechi Osemele ($10.5 million cap number): One of the NFL’s best interior linemen. He’s going nowhere.

-- Rodney Hudson ($8.4 million cap number): See above. Raiders love Rodney.

-- Jared Cook ($5.3 million cap number): Was frustrated by how last year turned out, but also lead the Raiders in receiving yards and could’ve had a few more. Gruden could draw up some interesting plays for the receiving tight end.

-- Cordarrelle Patterson ($3.25 million cap number): Kickoff returners have been mitigated some these days, but that’s pretty cheap for special-teams explosiveness and an effective gadget player.

-- Seth Roberts ($4.45 million cap number): Roberts is the only player on this list who would come with a cap hit. It’s $2 million, a reasonable shot if the Raiders find an upgrade in the slot. They could well look for one, maybe in the draft.

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