© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsRichie Incognito reportedly wants to continue his NFL career.
The Raiders are making big changes on their offensive line. Following a Gabe Jackson release, Las Vegas plans to cut Richie Incognito, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Incognito played well in 2019, when the Raiders ended the second of his NFL sabbaticals, and signed an extension late in that season. However, an early-season injury shelved the veteran guard in 2020. Incognito is believed to be healthy and wants to play in 2021, per Rapoport.
An Incognito release will save the Raiders $5.5M. He was signed only through the 2021 season. The controversial O-lineman played only two games last season, suffering a foot injury that ended up requiring surgery two months later. The Raiders entered Friday with barely $3M in cap space.
While Incognito is better known for his off-field reputation - the bullying scandal that led him out of Miami and out of the league for the 2014 and another incident that preceded him being out of football in 2018 and left him suspended to start his Raiders tenure - the 37-year-old blocker has been a productive player when available. Pro Football Focus has graded him as a top-25 guard in every season he has played since 2010. Incognito made the Pro Bowl in each of his three Bills seasons - 2015-17 - and helped the Raiders' 2019 O-line rate as one of the league's best. That group has splintered this week.
In addition to releasing their Week 1 guard starters from last season, the Raiders are shopping right tackle Trent Brown. The player who took over for Incognito, Denzelle Good, is a free agent. Only left tackle Kolton Miller and standout center Rodney Hudson appear to be on solid ground among Las Vegas' first-string blockers.
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