We wondered a few days ago if the Raiders would pick up the fifth-year option on former No. 24 pick Josh Jacobs. The expectation is that they will considering he has been highly productive and the price tag isn’t too expensive.
But what about Johnathan Abram? The No. 27 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft is coming off th ebest season of his career as he had 116 total tackles. Will the Raiders pick up his option at $11.5 million for the 2023 season?
In a recent article by Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, he talked about every team’s first-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft and predicted if they would exercise or decline their fifth-year options this offseason. For him, the Abram decision looks pretty easy:
“Abram found his place in the Raiders’ defense in 2021 as a strong safety/linebacker hybrid who spent more time down in the box and carried receivers out of the slot, and he logged over 850 snaps in consecutive seasons after missing almost his entire rookie campaign.
Abram’s 56.9 grade in 2021 was a career-best by a good bit, and his 33 defensive stops ranked tied for third among safeties, but what he excels at isn’t necessarily what commands top dollar at the position.”
Going into the 2022 season, there are only 11 safeties making upwards of $10 million a season. At $11.5 million, Abram would immediately be the ninth-highest paid safety in the NFL. For a player who hasn’t been able to stay healthy or perform consistently, the Raiders would be wise to decline his option.
However, that doesn’t mean the Raiders should necessarily move on either. He did show some improvement during the 2021 season and they could bring him back in 2023 on a much-lower contract.
Depending on his play in 2022, he could early around $5 million a year based on what average safeties are being paid on the open market. That feels far more likely than the Raiders guaranteeing him $11.5 million for the 2023 season.