The Trade the Raiders Should Make

The Raiders got rid of “The Patriots Way” and tossed controversial and ineffective Josh McDaniels overboard last season. Interim Head Coach Antonio Pierce rallied the team and generated a tremendous amount of unity in the locker room and among the fanbase. 

The drama should be over, right? A player’s coach who really embraced the uniqueness of Raider Nation should be able to, at least, eliminate the seemingly constant crisis that has followed the moribund franchise around… right?

Not so fast.

Less than five games into the season, superstar wide receiver Davante Adams requested a trade from the team he came to hoping to reunite with former college teammate Derek Carr—only to spend the last year and a half catching passes from Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell, and Gardner Minshew. 

The back-and-forth between Adams and Pierce and the conflicting stories of how the desire to be traded came about certainly jives with what fans have come to expect from the Raiders, but the fact remains that it’s highly likely that Davante’s days in Vegas are numbered.

A deal, at this point, is difficult to assess. Adams remains one of the league’s top receivers, and he—despite essentially dictating a trade at a low value—still returned a first and second round pick when dealt to the Raiders just a year ago. Nevertheless, he’s seen as a rental, and Vegas is asking for a second-round pick plus additional compensation in order to make a deal.

Landing an additional second round pick might be used as fodder to move up in the draft to go get one of the draft’s best signal callers—Quinn Ewers, Shedeur Sanders, Carson Beck, or Jalen Milroe. None is seen as a “sure thing.”

Instead of looking to the Draft, the Raiders should look to the bench to find the best trade value that could be available.

Right now, the Minnesota Vikings are 5-0. Sam Darnold, for the most part, looks like the QB he was drafted to be, and the team’s offensive weapons are humming. While the 27-year-old Darnold is thriving, Minnesota’s 21-year-old draft pick, JJ McCarthy, who was taken ahead of Broncos’ starter Bo Nix, is languishing on the bench and out for the year with injury. 

The injury may be solving a problem the Vikings will have to deal with next season—how do they handle his transition when they have a young, talented QB already winning football games for the franchise?

What if, instead, the Vikings committed to Darnold, gave him another weapon, and dealt away a QB that they still don’t really know much about? Adding Davante Adams to the Vikings offense would be downright scary and make them a serious contender for the Super Bowl. Could they really pass that up?

For the Raiders, the trade similarly makes sense. Sitting at 2-3, trading away Adams already signals that they’ve given up on this season anyway. Getting McCarthy in the building, learning the franchise and its players, and not helping the team win games in 2024 (bolstering its draft pick) is a great win.

I’d put the rookie on par with the incoming crop of signal callers except he’s done one thing none of them have (yet)—led a team to a national championship. Instead of using a first-round pick on one of them, adding the young Viking would give the franchise its QB come draft time, allowing them the option of using its draft capital on bolstering its roster.

Imagine if the Raiders could use their first-round pick on a corner like Travis Hunter or Will Johnson or even a wide receiver (Adams replacement) like Tetairoa McMillan. A running back like Ashton Jeanty or Quinshon Judkins could be sitting there in Round 2. Then, without Adams’ salary, the franchise would also have enormous amounts of money to spend in free agency, giving Pierce and Telesco the chance to firmly put their stamp on this roster.

A chance at a Super Bowl for the Vikings. A final turning of the page for the Raiders.

This is the trade the Raiders should make.