The Raiders did well to get fourth and sixth-round draft picks for Jakobi Meyers just ahead of the November 4 trade deadline, but it sounds like the internal process to pull off that trade wasn’t an easy one.
It was a pretty well-known storyline behind the scenes that not everyone was in agreement on what to do with Meyers in the final year of his deal, but league insider Ari Meirov reported on it this week in no uncertain terms.
“Just to give some background here on the Jakobi Meyers trade, there was a lot of back and forth from the front office and the coaching staff about doing that,” Meirov said on the NFL Spotlight podcast.
“I mean, it was just such an obvious trade candidate, move on from him, final year of the contract, doesn’t want to be there,” Meirov continued. “[The] coaching staff wanted to keep him and finally they were able to get a four and a six from Jacksonville when they did the deal but even doing a deal like that, there’s just a dichotomy of ‘We got to win right now’ versus ‘We got to prepare for the future’ and it’s just not a good balance right now.”
For what it’s worth, there is more to the story around the Meyers situation than a GM and head coach who weren’t on the same page.
There was a point when Meyers was willing to return to the Raiders on a new deal, but the situation reached a point where it was widely assumed that Meyers wasn’t considering a return to Las Vegas in 2026.
It’s also worth pointing out that it’s not uncommon for a GM and head coach to not be on the same page with how to handle contracts, so the Raiders’ situation with Meyers wasn’t that much different than what happens in every organization.
The difference right now for the Raiders is that Pete Carroll is coaching a roster in line for a two-year rebuild, at minimum. The Raiders haven’t been this devoid of talent in more than a decade.
This probably isn’t what Carroll signed up for 10 months ago, and it will be interesting to see if he is interested in another rebuild at 74 years of age.
Also, if you listen to Meirov’s perspective on the Meyers trade, can you tell a little about where his information is coming from?
More on that a little later today.
x: @raidersbeat
Best thing that could happen is for the Raiders to start over. Plenty of quality coaches not available, too. Good riddance, coach Biden.
Agree with everything but the last comment. Pete reminds me daily of the current President, talks aimlessly about nothing on the subject at hand, constantly confused about the situation that’s going on, talks a big game about what he and the team are doing while every sane person can tell he’s delusional.
STFU
The devoid of talent is a false flag. Poor coaching will always mask good talent and excellent coaching make mediocre players look like All-Pros. How many times have we seen a supposedly low talent player leave the Raiders and blossom elsewhere?
You cannot accurately judge the talent that you have if the coaching and the system is holding things back. Fix the coaching first, then evaluate your talent and assess needs.