Oakland Raiders Release Wide Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey

March 13, 2013   ·   Tyler Conway   ·   Jump to comments

Following in the footsteps of many other NFL teams, the Oakland Raiders opened the 2013 free-agency period by making major slashes to payroll.
According to the Raiders' official Twitter feed, the team released wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, safety Michael Huff and defensive end David Tollefson on Tuesday:
As a franchise that was languishing on the edge of the salary cap heading into the league year's opening, Oakland's moves were likely financially motivated. Heyward-Bey and Huff alone combined for a cap number of a shade under $22 million, per Spotrac.
While that all won't be recouped—dead money from previous bonuses still lingers—the releases will go a long way toward giving the Raiders financial flexibility this offseason. For a team that finished 4-12 in 2012, the freedom supersedes what the three players can bring to the field. 
From a football perspective, Heyward-Bey is obviously the most critical loss. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 ...

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