Is now the perfect time for the Las Vegas Raiders to trade wide receiver Jakobi Meyers?
Well, his trade value certainly increased after a pair of star wideouts—Tyreek Hill and Malik Nabers—suffered apparent season-ending injuries in Week 4.
Hill, the No. 1 wideout on the Miami Dolphins depth chart, suffered a gruesome knee injury vs. the New York Jets, tearing his ACL and dislocating his knee.
Nabers, meanwhile, tore his ACL while trying to catch a deep pass in the first half of last Sunday’s 21-18 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Hill and Nabers are just the latest pair of players to join a long list of sidelined pass catchers across the NFL after just four weeks of play. Cedric Tillman (Cleveland Browns), CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys), Jauan Jennings (San Francisco 49ers), and Tank Dell (Houston Texans) are just a few of the noteworthy receivers to sustain early injuries, which certainly expands the list of potential trade partners for Meyers.
However, the Dolphins and Giants find themselves in exactly the same position in the standings as the Raiders, as all three teams have identical 1-3 records heading into Week 5. It’s likely too early for this trio of teams to wave the white flag on the season after four weeks, but things certainly aren’t trending in the right direction. If you take a quick glance across some of the best NFL betting sites, you’ll notice all three of these teams now have long odds to make the playoffs and are massive long shots to win the Super Bowl.
Although these teams are off to poor starts, you’d have to think the front offices in Miami and New York will consider taking conservative approaches in replacing their respective star wideouts at this point, with over a month remaining before the Nov. 4 trade deadline.
Competing teams in the NFL, though, don’t have the luxury of being patient with just a 17-game regular season. And it seems like just a matter of time before Meyers is dealt to a playoff contender.
Meyers, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, reportedly asked for a trade in August after contract negotiations stalled. Meyers later confirmed the team denied his trade request, at least for the time being. He’s playing out the final year of his current three-year deal, which has a base salary of $10.5 million in 2025. Of course, the Raiders can let him walk for nothing at the end of the year, or trade him for future assets prior to the deadline.
The 28-year-old out of NC State leads the Raiders in receptions (21), targets (33), and receiving yards (258) through four games after breaking out in 2024 with 87 catches for 1,027 yards.
The Raiders (1-3) currently sit fourth in the AFC West Division and have three more games—Week 5 @ Indianapolis Colts, Week 6 vs. Tennessee Titans, and Week 7 @ Kansas City Chiefs—leading up to the Nov. 4 trade deadline. If they find themselves far out of contention by their Week 8 bye, a Meyers trade will become very likely.