Raiders' 2023 Free Agent Class: Clelin Ferrell

The Las Vegas Raiders are in full off-season mode, and the first part of the off-season is free agency.

For General Manager Dave Ziegler and Raiders’ management, this starts with looking closely at their own free agents and deciding who they want to bring back and who they feel comfortable letting go.

The Raiders have 26 unrestricted free agents. For a team that finished 6-11 amid expectations of making the playoffs, Ziegler and company might feel inclined to find talent from outside the organization.

We will look at current Raiders whose contracts are set to expire and determine whether or not the Raiders should bring them back, starting with defensive end Clelin Ferrell.

The Raiders drafted Ferrell with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, a surprising move to many. Ferrell was projected as a mid to late-first-round pick in that draft class but ended up as a top-five pick of former Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock.

In his rookie season, Ferrell started and played 15 games for the Raiders, recording 38 total tackles, eight tackles for losses, and four and a half sacks. However, he would never have a season with more than two sacks after that. Ferrell has only started four games in the last two seasons, never amassing more than two sacks in a season.

The Raiders selected Maxx Crosby in the fourth round of the same draft class, and he quickly surpassed Ferrell’s production. Crosby recorded 10 sacks in his rookie season and eventually would become a premier pass rusher in the NFL. When the Raiders traded for four-time Pro Bowler Chandler Jones last off-season, Ferrell found himself as the odd man out. The Raiders declined Ferrell’s fifth-year option in April of last year.

Ferrell might want to return to the Raiders, but he will likely want a multi-year contract, and due to the lack of production he’s had over the last four seasons, the Raiders might be hesitant to give him one. If Ferrell wants a one-year prove-it deal, it will make sense to bring him back as a depth piece.

However, seeing as that is not likely and that the Raiders have Crosby and Jones locked up as their main edge rushers, it makes sense for the Raiders and Ferrell to have an amicable split.

The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST, is the club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. During that time, starting at 12 p.m. EST on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EST on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m EST on March 15.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EST on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.

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