When the Las Vegas Raiders acquired Chandler Jones and Davante Adams in a span of 48 hours in March 2022, this couldn't be what Raiders owner Mark Davis envisioned for his team. After having hired Josh McDaniels away from New England a month and a half earlier, the Raiders were loading up on both sides of the ball, reuniting quarterback Derek Carr with his former college teammate Adams, and moving forward with intentions of competing with Kansas City, Buffalo, and the other contenders of the AFC. At least this is what one would assume Davis was envisioning for his team.
What's resulted is a total teardown of the team that Davis had built. All of the great close game karma the Raiders had in 2021 has disappeared. Derek Carr was released in February and is now the starting quarterback in New Orleans. Jimmy Garoppolo was acquired to be the successor to Derek Carr and the presence needed to keep the Raiders in the Playoff hunt, but he's been benched after a terrible start to the season. Chandler Jones has been dealing with a myriad of legal and mental health issues, and was released after only 15 games with the Raiders. Davante Adams has been the subject of trade rumors all year. And to put the cherry on top of this disappointing ice cream sundae, McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired less than two years after they were hired.
Now the Raiders turn to interim head coach Antonio Pierce and rookie 4th round pick Aidan O'Connell, who has started one game so far this season and was sacked six times by Khalil Mack. When asked about his expectations for the rookie quarterback, Mark Davis didn't have much to say, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. His response indicated he's tired, cranky, and praying to God the Raiders can stumble into a quarterback in the 1st round next April.
“I have no idea.”
Okay, Mark. Get some rest, hit the blackjack table, and start watching some Caleb Williams and Drake Maye tape. That oughta cheer ya up.
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