If the first seven games of the season have been any indication, the Raiders will almost certainly be looking for another quarterback at the end of the season.
This year’s draft will feature a decent crop of quarterbacks, but are there any moves the Raiders can make before the end of the season that might offer a brighter outlook at the quarterback position?
Probably not, but ESPN analyst Seth Walder proposed a massive trade idea on Wednesday, and it involves the Dolphins sending former fifth-overall pick Tua Tagovailoa to Las Vegas along with a couple of Day 2 draft picks.
“This is the Brock Osweiler trade on steroids,” Walder said of his blockbuster trade scenario.
“The Raiders currently have $103 million and $174 million in 2026 and 2027 cap space, respectively. What I would propose here is the Dolphins send a 2026 second-round pick and 2027 second-round pick along with Tagovailoa in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick,” Walder continued.
“If that trade happened next week, Las Vegas would keep Tagovailoa through 2026 at a cost of roughly $70 million over that time, the vast majority fully guaranteed. It would get the Dolphins out of their tight cap situation so they can reset and rebuild, and it would be a more efficient use of resources for Las Vegas — regardless of whether Tagovailoa ever takes the field for them or not.”
By agreeing to the deal (which is entirely hypothetical), the Raiders would acquire one of the worst contracts in the league, but they would get a pair of second-round picks and a quarterback that could compete for the starting job.
Tagovailoa appears to be wearing out his welcome in Miami and if the Raiders paired him with Geno Smith, they would have both of the NFL’s interception leaders (10) on the roster.
The draft picks might make the trade idea intriguing, but there are more conventional ways to build a roster, and the Raiders are cruising for a top-5 pick in the 2026 draft. In theory, that should afford them the opportunity to take one of the top quarterbacks in the draft.
Additionally, it seems unlikely that Raiders’ head coach Pete Carroll would want to crowd the quarterback room around Smith ahead of the trade deadline. Every indication is that Carroll still believes in Smith and, if anything, he might be looking for a way to upgrade at the offensive coordinator position ahead of the trade deadline.
x: @raidersbeat
I loved the Osweiler deal at the time. For a rebuilding team, cap space isn’t that important because you’re looking to build around guys on rookie deals and fill out the roster with cheap vets (kind of like Spytek actually did this offseason, while everyone else was talking win now).
The difference is that Tua has actually been good at times in his career. The downside is that he requires he’s an excellent OC, and I don’t see Chip Kelly being the guy to help.
That said, even if he never plays for the Raiders, the trade of cap space for a good pick is enticing, and I think he could be a good backup/bridge guy for the next attempt at a Raiders franchise QB
Tua is far and away a better qb than Smith, but with our oline Tua can’t afford any more concussions.
For 2 2nd rounders it’s a worthy idea but instead of sending back any picks it should include Geno. On the side though that is giving at this point in time more picks to Tom, Spy, and Pete and they’ve proved collectively that isn’t a strength. Now get us a new owner (not named Mark Davis nor Tom Brady) that will hire actual quality front office guys instead of old friends than that person would have a clean bill of help.