Getty Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock and Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Oakland Raiders have already made two trade for wide receivers since the season began and they could be looking for a third. The trade rumors haven’t stopped for the team and this latest report says that Oakland could be interested in a New York Jets wide receiver. According to Connor Hughes and Vic Tafur at The Athletic, the Raiders have expressed interest in trading for Robby Anderson.
The Jets are 1-5 and going nowhere fast. However, it seems strange to trade a 26-year old wide receiver, who has been their quarterback’s main target. On the flip side, the Raiders definitely need as much help as they can get at the wide receiver position. Tyrell Williams looks like he’s finally getting healthy, but there isn’t very much proven talent behind him. Zay Jones has potential and his numbers aren’t too far off from Anderson’s. If the asking price is right, Anderson could be a solid number two while Jones is an above-average number three.
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Asking Price May Be Too High
As with most trades, the biggest obstacle facing the Raiders is just how much the Jets will want in return. Per Vic Tafur, Oakland isn’t too keen on giving up more than a third for Anderson, but the Jets may just want more.
Anything more than a third-round draft pick for a wide receiver who has never broken 1,000 yards in a season feels a bit steep. Tafur goes on to note that the Jets may change their minds and keep him.
Sam Darnold is young and has very little help. Getting rid of one of his top targets seems to make little sense. They used a very high draft pick on Darnold and it would be ill-advised to set him up to fail. New York actually had decent expecatations heading into this season. They added C.J. Mosley and LeVeon Bell in the offseason. Darnold was supposed to improve in year two and Adam Gase was supposed to help bring out the best in him. None of that has happened and they’ve been battered with injuries and have made a series of questionable decisions. That being said, nobody would confuse the Jets with a well-run franchise.
Jets in the Middle of Bizarre Controversy With Former Raider
Kelechi Osemele had some dominant years when he was in Oakland. He’s probably wishing they didn’t trade him away to New York at this point. The former All-Pro had surgery to repair a shoulder injury against the team’s wishes. Osemele is far removed from his 2016 form, so it’s bizarre that the team would give him such a hard time about getting surgery.
Per Rich Cimini of ESPN, Osemele did not show up at the Jets facility on Friday because of the surgery. He has already accumulated quite a bit of fines and should receive another one for Friday’s absence. Considering he’s gotten second and third opinions from doctors who recommended surgery, it makes no sense for the Jets to treat him this way. His days in New York are probably numbered.