Raiders add former starting Super Bowl guard ahead of free agency
Raiders add former starting Super Bowl guard ahead of free agency
The Las Vegas Raiders are jumping into free agency early, inking former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Alex Cappa, the team announced on Wednesday.
Cappa, 30, was released by the Bengals on Monday ahead of the final year of a four-year contract that he signed before the 2022 NFL season.
Cappa was brought in as a piece to stabilize the Bengals' offensive line following a Super Bowl LVI loss against the Los Angeles Rams. The Humboldt State alum suffered an injury in Week 18 of the 2022 season and his production slipped from there.
According to ESPN's Next Gen Stats, Cappa ranked 60th out of 62 players in pass block win rate as a guard in 2023. Then, during this recent 2024 season, Cappa ranked last among 64 qualifying players in the same statistic.
Cappa's 2024 offensive grade was a meager 50.5 and his pass blocking grade was 39.7 per Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot-6, 310 pound offensive lineman allowed 51 pressures and eight sacks during the 2024 campaign.
If the Raiders are bringing Cappa in as a buy-low depth piece, then this could be a high reward situation for Las Vegas.
New Raiders general manager John Spytek previously served as Tampa Bay's director of player personnel from 2016-20 before ascending to become the Bucs' assistant general manager each of the past two seasons. Cappa has a Spytek connection as it was the Buccaneers who originally drafted Cappa with the No. 94 overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Cappa was the starting right guard for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in 2020 when they went on to become Super Bowl LV champions, defeating Kansas City, 31-9.
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