Silver Minings: Raiders are in good salary-cap shape for the near future

But will it pay off on the field?

While we all know the Las Vegas Raiders have struggled in terms of being playoff contenders, one thing the team has done well consistently for several years is manage the salary cap.

While former general manager Reggie McKenzie — who was the first person to take over the football operations on a full-time basis in January 2012 following the death of Al Davis — didn’t make a huge impact on the organization in his seven years with the team, he did get the salary cap in order under his watch.

It was a mess in the final years of the Davis regime. The Raiders have continued to have a good grasp on the cap in the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock era, even though they struggled with the reduced cap this year like most teams did.

This PFF piece shows the Raiders should be in solid standings in the salary cap for the next few years. Now, the key is to do a better job of using the cap room, hit on more draft picks than they miss on, and the strong cap management could actually start paying off in the win-loss column.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Rookie’s promise: Second-round pick safety Tre’von Moehrig said he will give the Raiders’ his all every day.
• Nassib ramifications: NFL.com columnist Judy Battista writes that Raiders’ defensive end Carl Nassib’s announcement that he is gay has changed and challenged the league.
• Tough stretch: The Raiders, via Warren Sharp, have just one winning season since 2003. It’s the worst in the NFL.