The New York Giants missed an opportunity to get something back for Russell Wilson as the Cincinnati Bengals traded for Joe Flacco in Week 6, but the latest NFL news has sparked a rumor that NYG should shop the veteran backup to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I think the Giants are still anticipating calls for Russ,” NFL insider Dianna Russini reported on October 8, while recording her “Scoop City” podcast.
Russini added that “I think [the Giants] think they will get [trade calls] between now and the trade deadline in November.”
The NFL insider’s comments echoed a September 27 report from NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, which stated: “Wilson is expected to emerge as a trade candidate prior to the deadline on Nov. 4, the target of a QB-needy team in need of a veteran, according to sources around the league.”
So, where do the Raiders come into all this?
This week, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox connected the dots from Big Blue to the Silver & Black. And he explained why.
Why Russell Wilson Trade Rumors Could Make Sense for the Giants & Raiders
Knox named the Raiders and Cleveland Browns as the mostly likely “suitors” for Wilson ahead of Week 6, but Las Vegas certainly lines up more, considering Cleveland has two young quarterbacks to get a look at.
Plus, the Raiders have the Pete Carroll connection from the pair’s Seattle days, and Geno Smith has been one of the worst starting QBs in football this year.
“The primary reason Wilson might draw interest? He’s cheap,” Knox argued. “With a base salary of just $2 million, he would be a budget alternative for any team currently getting poor quarterback play or in need of a veteran mentor.”
Las Vegas would fall in the “poor quarterback play” category, and they would not have traded for Smith in the first place if they weren’t hoping to immediately compete in 2025.
Carroll and Wilson openly flirted with the idea of a reunion this spring, but in the end, both chose a different path. This could be an opportunity to re-write history, with Wilson replacing Smith as the Raiders’ QB1.
Russini Reported Bengals Had No Interest in Giants QBs
Russini reported one other nugget on the Giants’ quarterback situation this week.
On October 7, she posted: “The Bengals internally discussed different options at QB. I’m told the team never called the Giants about trading for either Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston before making a move for veteran Joe Flacco.”
There you have it. It’s somewhat odd that Cincinnati would prefer to trade for a 40-year-old quarterback inside of their own division, rather than target Wilson or Winston.
It’s even stranger that the Bengals wouldn’t even call the Giants to check in on their respective price tags.
For whatever reason, Cincy was not interested in either. That’s fine, as Big Blue is in no rush to trade their current insurance policies at the position, but one would hope that other teams are more willing to trade for either backup.
If not, the Giants could be stuck with both for the foreseeable future, and that doesn’t benefit anyone with Jaxson Dart clearly winning the job.
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