Officially, the Las Vegas Raiders have a slimmer centre. After Aidan O’Connell’s injury during the Raiders’ Week 7 loss, which has prompted five quarterback trade ideas, the team now needs more depth at quarterback.
Due to a fractured thumb he suffered during the 20–15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the second-year quarterback is out. Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Monday that he would be gone for four to six weeks.
In O’Connell’s absence, Gardner Minshew takes over as quarterback. But for a 2-5 squad in Sin City, Carter Bradley, an undrafted rookie, is still the only other viable alternative.
The Raiders should consider tanking the remainder of the season, according to many analysts. In this manner, they can use the 2025 NFL Draft to target Cam Ward of Miami or Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. Maxx Crosby, the top edge rusher for the Raiders, even referred to Sanders as “my guy” on his October 15 episode of The Rush Podcast.
In any case, the Silver and Black urgently require depth. Owner Mark Davis, general manager Tom Telesco, head coach Antonio Pierce, and the rest of the team must be planning a move. The Raiders should consider the following five choices.
Young Bryce
This action might change the Raiders’ preparations for the ’25 draft.
Young, who is only in his second season, becomes a long-term solution. Nevertheless, the idea that the Carolina Panthers ought to trade him is strengthened by his demotion in Charlotte.
Young, a previous number one pick, does have a cap charge of $8.6 million in 2024, which increases to $10.3 million in 2025 and $12 million the following season. If the Raiders accept that salary, they are accepting a risk. According to Over The Cap, the team has over $21.3 million in cap space available for ’24.
However, replacing him with Alabama’s previous Heisman Trophy winner must be taken into account. Additionally, Vegas should think about other high draft picks than him.
Trey Lance
Before the season, Dak Prescott signed a huge agreement worth $240 million, securing the bag. However, that agreement also meant that the former No. 3 pick of the 2021 draft would not be playing for the foreseeable future.
At first, Lance was considered a backup plan in case Prescott didn’t work out. However, that was before to the 2023 season, when the deal was finalised. Since the Dallas Cowboys are obviously all in on their long-time starter, they should have some negotiating power if they want to trade for the still-young Lance.
The fact that Lance is earning more over $5 million but is not bound by a contract until 2025 benefits Vegas in this situation. If brought in, the previous top-five pick would become a cheap alternative and would be worth a late Day 3 selection or two. The father of Davis was a fervent supporter of the Hail Mary. Maybe Lance’s deep ball ability will be taken into consideration by Al Davis’s son.
Jacoby Brissett
A contract with the New England Patriots must be reached if the Raiders want a quarterback who can lead them to the postseason.
According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Brissett has already been benched in favour of Drake Maye, a 2024 first-round pick. The veteran called his current predicament “tough.”
The 32-year-old quarterback has never been described as ostentatious. Nonetheless, he was a member of the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI team as a rookie and has seen one postseason run in Indianapolis. Although Brissett would only be a band-aid solution in this case, he can give the Raiders the seasoned leadership presence they need.
Tom Brady, the recently acquired minority owner, might be able to pound the table here for his old friend.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
The Raiders are keeping an eye on the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback predicament. The non-elevated quarterback after Deshaun Watson might end up being a tempting trade target.
The more desirable option is the 24-year-old Thompson-Robinson.
Cleveland has a seasoned quarterback in Jameis Winston, a former Pro Bowl player. Meanwhile, “DTR” is coping with his own condition after suffering a thumb injury on the same Sunday that Watson tore his ACL. According to Chris Easterling, a writer for the Akron Beacon Journal, Thompson-Robinson is not guaranteed to be available next week.
Even without Watson, the Browns still have a lot to think about. As with Joe Flacco last season, it appears that the team needs to find a free agent who is still available to aid with depth. Due to the fact that Pierce’s Arizona State teams were a Pac-12 opponent of Thompson-Robinson’s UCLA, Pierce is really familiar with “DTR” from his time coaching in college. During Pierce’s tenure under former ASU head coach Herm Edwards, the Sun Devils even extended an offer to Thompson-Robinson, who was not yet in high school, for the 2018 class.
There have been glimpses of Thompson-Robinson as a dual threat. For offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who coached a quarterback like Justin Fields in Chicago, he can provide a much-needed running element. However, DTR loses his trading ability for the 2024 trade deadline if he isn’t healthy for the remainder of the year.
Kyle Trask
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ post-Tom Brady quarterback was the last one in mind.
After being selected out of Florida in the in-state second-round selection, Trask is now trailing Baker Mayfield. Trask won’t play unless a game becomes lopsided or Mayfield is injured, given his recent comeback with the Bucs.
However, given Minshew’s personal injury history and if he becomes inconsistent, the 26-year-old may have an opportunity to earn playing time in Sin City right away. Trask has not yet had an NFL start. He might be more successful outside of Tampa in gaining the starting position.
He has a basic salary of about $1.4 million and is currently in the fourth and last year of his rookie contract. If the Raiders look to him for much-needed depth, he would fall into the young-and-cheap group.
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