The Raiders have lost three games in a row, but could they still be buyers at the trade deadline?
It will be interesting to see how the Raiders proceed as the trade deadline gets closer, and their next three games (Rams, Jets and 49ers) will probably factor into their decisions ahead of the November 10 deadline.
If the Raiders are sliding out of the playoff hunt ahead of the deadline, players like Kirk Cousins, Aidan O’Connell, Jackson Powers-Johnson or even Maxx Crosby could be players on the move.
But as it stands now, the Raiders are a better bet to add a player or two in the next two weeks, and The Athletic’s Daniel Popper linked the Raiders to five of the top 10 potential trade candidates this week.
In his Thursday column, Popper listed DT Jeffery Simmons, DT DeForest Buckner, DT Vita Vea, DT Moro Ojomo and WR Josh Downs as players to watch for the Raiders.
Two of the five players Popper listed are over 30 years old, and while the Raiders would improve their defensive interior with players like Vea and Buckner, it seems unlikely that GM John Spytek will build toward the future by adding players on the back end of their careers.
Downs is an interesting option at wide receiver, but like many of the players on Popper’s list, he has an expiring contract.
It’s hard to imagine Spytek trading for any player in the next three weeks that won’t around after this season.
Raiders face complicated decision at quarterback
As Cousins continues to play at a high level, it is going to be interesting to see how the Raiders move forward at quarterback.
O’Connell was presumably kept on the roster to leave the door open for a potential Cousins trade, and if Cousins won’t be turning over his job anytime soon, would the Raiders consider trading O’Connell?
There has been talk of O’Connell having a trade market, but that remains to be seen. O’Connell and the Raiders might decide his best option in the long term is to hang around as Fernando Mendoza’s backup.
That’s a move both sides should consider when Cousins inevitably walks away at the end of the season.
Best bet to be traded away…
This is purely speculation, but it doesn’t seem like Powers-Johnson is going to be a good fit with this coaching staff, either.
Powers-Johnson is just 23 years old and still has another year remaining on his contract. It’s not often that a player like Powers-Johnson becomes available at the trade deadline, so the Raiders might decide to double down on Trey Zuhn and see what they can get for JPJ.
Publicly, Powers-Johnson has said and done all the right things, but he can’t seem to get on the good side of the coaches in Las Vegas.
It happened with Pete Carroll and now it seems to be happening with Klint Kubiak.
It’s probably time for a change of scenery for JPJ, and if the Raiders can get a fifth-round pick for him, that would be a pretty good situation for everyone involved.
A player teams should be calling about…
The Raiders balked at giving Tre Tucker a new contract in the offseason, and if they don’t re-sign him before March, Tucker will hit free agency as one of the better wide receivers on the market.
The decision makers in Las Vegas probably aren’t interested in trading Tucker, but if they don’t plan to bring him back in 2027, Tucker could be worth a day 2 pick to someone that views him as a long-term solution at wide receiver.
The better move, though, would be to work out a new deal with Tucker and make sure the team doesn’t go into the offseason with no proven wide receivers under contract.
x: @raidersbeat
