Report: Don’t Expect Big QB “Splash” from Raiders

The Raiders missed out on potential trade for Matthew Stafford and the more details that leak around why Stafford chose the Rams, the more it sounds like he simply didn’t want to leave Los Angeles.

More accurately, it might be true that his family didn’t want to leave Los Angeles.

“I think… his wife Kelly Stafford went on a podcast, she was a little upset about things,” Tafur said on The Athletic’s Just Win Podcast. “She kind of calls the shots from everything I’ve heard and so it’s going to be a lot of money difference… I think the Raiders were offering like two years, for $100 million and the Giants were offering even more.”

The Rams’ deal is expected to be closer to $40 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and that means the decision didn’t come down to money. Or at the very least, Stafford’s efforts to get a $50 million per year deal from the Rams didn’t pay off.

Regardless of what happened, the Raiders are still in the market for a quarterback after going hard after Stafford. No one has reported on what the plan is now for Tom Brady and company, but it sounds like the Raiders aren’t going to take another big swing in free agency or a trade.

According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, the Raiders aren’t likely to spend big on their next quarterback target.

Tashan Reed on X (formerly Twitter): “As we reported earlier @TheAthletic, the #Raiders aren’t likely to spend big money on a veteran QB after missing out on Matthew Stafford, per sources. They’ll do their due diligence on the trade and free agent market, but don’t expect a big splash. / X”

As we reported earlier @TheAthletic, the #Raiders aren’t likely to spend big money on a veteran QB after missing out on Matthew Stafford, per sources. They’ll do their due diligence on the trade and free agent market, but don’t expect a big splash.

One of the reasons the Raiders aren’t expected to make a “big splash” on their next quarterback is because there aren’t any quarterbacks available to make a splash on.

Sam Darnold is the best quarterback expected to hit free agency and there’s a chance he is going to get the franchise tag from the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s possible the Vikings could trade Darnold on the franchise tag, but it’s hard to imagine the Raiders will want to make a sizeable investment on Darnold. There are enough bad years on Darnold’s resume to somewhat minimize what he was able to do with one of the best offensive coaches and arguably the best wide receiver in the league.

In a previous report, Tafur called the Raiders “lukewarm” on Darnold and it seems to be the consensus around the league that Darnold needs to show more before getting a contract with $100 million in guaranteed money.

Maybe a team will get desperate and write a huge check to Darnold, but based on Reed’s report this week, it doesn’t sound like that team is going to be the Raiders.

x: @raidersbeat

Las Vegas Raiders QB Search Continues + Combine Week Takeaways

Just when it seemed like the Las Vegas Raiders were zeroing in on a potential new starting QB, the Rams reached a deal with Matthew Stafford and the Raiders are backing to square one. So what will it be? A veteran QB, a rookie QB, or a QB who is currently on the roster?