The Raiders are asking left tackle Donald Penn to take a pay cut, which is interesting because he’s not particularly highly paid, by starting left tackle standards.
Penn’s cap hit this season is $8.38 million, which puts him 16th among left tackles. That means he’s right in the middle of the league’s starting left tackles.
Of course, it’s possible that part of the reason the Raiders want Penn to take a pay cut is that they don’t see him as a starter. He’s currently on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from foot surgery, and the Raiders may be ready to move on and make rookie first-round draft pick Kolton Miller their starting left tackle.
The Raiders would still owe Penn $3 million, the portion of his base salary that is guaranteed, if they release him. So Penn may be in no mood to renegotiate his contract, knowing that if he refuses, he still gets at least $3 million this year. It’s easy to see why Penn would feel that a league-average salary for the job he does isn’t too much to ask for.
