Las Vegas Raiders Are Long-Shot Candidates For Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Signing Is Unlikely

There were rumors heading into the start of free agency that Jon Gruden would look to upgrade his starting quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders were expected to be a Tom Brady suitor, but the six-time champion ended up signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team settled for Marcus Mariota, who is set to back up Derek Carr in the 2020 NFL season.

That hasn’t ended speculation that the Raiders still might try to add another starting-caliber signal caller.

Cam Newton and Jameis Winston are free agents. Andy Dalton is available, likely to be either traded or released with the Cincinnati Bengals set to select Joe Burrow with the No.1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Las Vegas is far from a favorite to acquire any of those veterans, but the betting odds suggest that it might not be out of the realm of possibility for the Raiders to make a move.

FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Raiders +1500 odds to sign Winston or Dalton. Newton has +1300 odds to be with Las Vegas in Week 1.

Only six teams are given better odds to acquire Newton or Dalton. Las Vegas is ninth on the list of potential Winston destinations.

Tampa Bay was given +2000 odds to sign Brady less than a month before the Bucs officially landed the greatest quarterback of all time.

The Raiders obviously aren’t getting rid of Mariota, who just signed a two-year, $17.6 million contract. A $7.5 million salary next season makes Mariota one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league.

Las Vegas would have to cut or trade Carr if it decided to add one of the three available quarterbacks. Only $2.9 million of Carr’s $18.9 million salary is guaranteed.

Carr was better than all three quarterbacks in 2019. He posted a career-high 100.8 passer rating with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Newton only played two games because of an injury. Winston led the NFL with 30 interceptions and a record seven pick-sixes. Dalton was temporarily benched before finishing the season with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.