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As the 2022 NFL trade deadline approaches on November 1, some teams are buyers, and some teams are sellers. What should the Las Vegas Raiders trade deadline plans be? At 2-4 on the season, the Raiders trades should (and have already started to be) of the selling variety. There are some good trade candidates on the Las Vegas roster, and with the way things have gone this season, there should be some Raiders trades that ship these players out of town. Here are the three reasons the Raiders must be sellers at the 2022 trade deadline.
3. The playoffs are almost gone
At 2-4 after six games, the Raiders making the playoffs isn’t completely impossible, but it is pretty darn implausible. Since 1990, when the NFL moved to six or more playoff teams, there have been over 200 teams to start the season 2-4. Less than 10% of those teams have made the playoffs from that spot, though, per The Spokesman-Review.
And that less than 10% figure is in a bubble. It doesn’t take into account the current predicament the Raiders face in the AFC and AFC West.
In their division, the Raiders are 2.5 games behind the Kansas City Chiefs and 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Chargers. Those aren’t insurmountable deficits, but with the way Kansas City is playing, catching the division leaders doesn’t seem realistic.
That puts the Raiders in the AFC Wild Card race for the final three 2022 playoff spots. In addition to being behind the Chargers, Las Vegas is also behind (excluding the four division leaders) the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and Indianapolis Colts.
There is still an outside shot a Raiders trade gives them a chance at the playoffs, but with what’s in front of them, it seems highly unlikely, which makes them a candidate for being a seller at the NFL trade deadline.
2. The Raiders' trade deadline needs don’t match up with the market
The Raiders' trade deadline deals would have to address the roster’s biggest issues, such as offensive line and defensive talent. The problem is the Raiders' trade candidates out there on the market don’t make sense for the team.
What is most available at eth trade deadline are offensive skill position players (WR, TE, RB). That is the one spot of the Raiders roster that they are all set with Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, Darren Waller, and Josh Jacobs, among others.
There are pass rushers available, which is a huge need for the Raiders, a team with the fewest sacks in the league this year (9.0). However, the franchise is already paying Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones big money, they’re just not getting the job done.
Offensive lineman and defensive back seven are in shorter supply this season, so the Raiders trades should be trading players out, not bringing them in.
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Plus, the Raiders have veteran players who may not be part of head coach Josh McDaniels' long-term plans that other teams will pay a premium for. The aforementioned Jacobs and Jones, as well as safety Johnathan Abram, could all join DT Jonathan Hankins (who the Raiders traded to the Cowboys this week) on their way out of Sin City.
1. The Raiders need a quarterback of the future
When Mark Davis and the Raiders unceremoniously dumped Jon Gruden following his email scandal, decided not to hire Rich Bisaccia on a full-time basis, and instead brought in Josh McDaniels from the New England Patriots, it signaled a new era for the Silver and Black.
The next thing to go from the old Raiders era is Derek Carr.
This is not to suggest that Carr is a Raiders' trade candidate at the NFL trade deadline or even should be gone after this year. However, the Raiders know what the ceiling looks like with Carr, and there isn’t a QB of the future in the pipeline to suggest better days ahead.
While the Raiders are 2-4, they should be stockpiling as many 2023 picks as possible to gain the most flexibility they can in the QB-rich 2023 NFL Draft. There could be several potential franchise-changing signal-callers available in April, and the Raiders need to snap one up.
Raiders trades can help this happen.
Picking a QB this year doesn’t mean Carr has to go. He can play one more season like Alex Smith did in front of Patrick Mahomes and then give way in 2024 or even 2025 to the QB prospect. However, none of this will happen if the Raiders make the foolish decision to become buyers at the deadline and not sellers.
