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At 1 p.m. PDT, March 13, 2012 the NFL's free agency period starts and the Raiders must be under the salary cap. There are a number of player contracts that have not yet restructured or otherwise addressed which will likely have an impact on the salary cap and the Raiders' free agency plans. Kamerion Wimbley The two sides aren't talking and extra guarantees are triggered on Friday and Wimbley is likely to be released before they do. Wimbley's release would save the Raiders just $2 million in cap space and leave the Raiders without a strong-side linebacker on the roster. John Henderson His contract is due to pay him $4.75 million in 2012. It's far too much for part-time backup with Henderson's miles. The Raiders would save approximately $4 million by releasing Henderson, but that also leaves the Raiders with a need for a run-stuffing defensive tackle Tommy Kelly Kelly's cap number is nearly $9 million and one would expect a restructured contract would have ...

The  Oakland Raiders  may not do much shuffling on the offensive side of the ball, but the 29th ranked defense will be altered. Stanford Routt has already been released and Reggie McKenzie promises even more change. Of the 11 positions on defense, only two have unquestioned starters. Had the Raiders been healthy, the starters at the end of the season would have been nearly identical to the starters in Week 1. The lone exception would be Aaron Curry starting over Quentin Groves. Since the Raiders will use both three-man and four-man fronts, we'll have to predict the starters for both schemes.   RDE Matt Shaughnessy (4-3 only) Last season, Shaughnessy was among the favorites during training camp to have a breakout, but hurt his shoulder and missed 13 games. He'll return in 2012 and hope to revive the buzz he generated last offseason. Shaughnessy managed to record just one sack in three games in 2011 and will be ready to add to that total. The introduction of the 3-4 will be very ...