The NFL trade deadline is closing in, and the teams that aren’t in playoff contention are expected to be sellers. The Las Vegas Raiders are in a bit of a different situation than other losing teams.
While other bad teams have either fired or are going to fire their head coaches, the Raiders seem committed to Pete Carroll. He’s already 74 years old, so the team can’t embrace a total rebuild. However, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers continues to be talked about as the most obvious trade candidate.
He’s on an expiring deal and has made it clear that he wants a trade. Despite that, it sounds like the Raiders haven’t decided what they’re going to do, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“… Pittsburgh doesn’t want to jeopardize what it has going at the cost of making a splashy receiver trade. The combination of DK Metcalf, a great trio at tight end (Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington) and a steady running game is working right now,” Fowler wrote. “Las Vegas’ Jakobi Meyers is an ideal fit because he’s adaptable. He can be a reliable No. 2 or a high-volume target if needed. But the Raiders are one of the teams giving mixed signals on whether they would actually execute a deal, which complicates the market. They aren’t the only ones.”
Meyers Still Wants to Be Traded
At this point, it doesn’t make much sense to keep Meyers. He’s almost certainly going to leave in free agency in the offseason, and he’s not the type of player a team is going to use the franchise tag on.
Plus, he just reiterated that he’s hoping to get traded.
“Oh, for sure,” Meyers said Tuesday. “But I’m a professional at the end of the day. I’m just trying to play good football. If I’m here, I’ll play good football. If I’m not here, I’ll go out there and play wherever I’m supposed to be.”
It doesn’t sound like Meyers is opposed to signing a contract extension with the team, but it seems like he prefers a fresh start.
“That window kind of just closed with the offseason in it,” Meyers said. “If it gets done, I don’t care for real. I really just want to be in a good spot for me [and] my family.”
Meyers Hasn’t Spoken to Raiders About Trade
A lot of times, when players want to be traded, they’ll sit out and turn it into a big deal. Meyers has mostly stayed quiet about it unless he gets asked.
The wide receiver says that he hasn’t spoken to the team about a trade since his initial request, but is going to continue to keep his head down and work regardless of what happens.
“[The Raiders] know how I feel,” Meyers said. “It’s no reason for me to keep going back crying to them, ‘Can you get me out of here?’
“If you move me, you move me. But in the meantime, I got some real people that I care about next to me, so I’m trying to make sure I’m being my best self for them.”
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