Getty Josh McDaniels & Dave Ziegler of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders were able to fill some holes this offseason but there are still major question marks on the roster. The current group of linebackers is a bit concerning. Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Luke Masterson and Curtis Bolton are the four linebackers who are expected to play the majority of snaps.
Deablo and Masterson are young players while Spillane and Bolton have combined for 16 career starts. The Raiders are very inexperienced at linebacker and they might want to change that. There aren’t many great options in free agency but there’s one name on the trade market they could have interest in. Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White has requested a trade but the team has yet to grant his request.
With the draft over, it’s going to be more difficult to trade the linebacker. The Raiders may be a team that ends up showing interest. It’s looking like Hunter Renfrow, who signed a two-year, $32.3 million extension in June 2022, doesn’t have a long-term future in Las Vegas with the team signing Jakobi Meyers and drafting Tre Tucker. He has been the subject of trade rumors but nothing has come to fruition.
The Buccaneers could use a savvy slot receiver like Renfrow to complement Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. A trade where the Raiders send Renfrow and a fifth-round pick to Tamba Bay for White is a deal that could make sense for both sides.
Devin White Is Looking to Get Paid
A reason White wants to be traded is that he wants a new contract. According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the linebacker is looking to get paid in the $18 to $20 million range. That would put him among the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL. White is a solid player but has been to just one Pro Bowl was Pro Football Focus‘ 74th-ranked linebacker in 2022.
He’s one of the better pass rushing linebackers in the NFL but does have a tendency to get burned. He’d be an upgrade over what the Raiders have but at his current asking price, it’s hard to imagine the team would want to pay him that much. Now, he could go down to the $15 million a year range, then it’d be interesting.
Devin White destroyed Mac Jones 😳
Devin White’s Contract Issues Are ‘Champagne Problems’
The Buccaneers did pick up White’s fifth-year option, which will give him a solid payday of $11 million in 2023. However, that’s still not enough money for him. Tampa Bay assistant coach Larry Foote seemed to have a problem with White holding out despite having good money lined up.
“Well, he’s not going to be the first (making such a demand), and he’s not going to be the last. We know that,” Foote said on Wednesday, via NFL.com. “Like I told him, he gets paid $11 million this year — those are champagne problems.”
Foote then got blunt and made it clear that White isn’t going to get everything he wants.
“It’s money,” Foote said. “You’re looking out at the guaranteed money, and he wants his money now. He has to understand the organization is preparing for next year, so we have to meet somewhere in the middle.
“I don’t know how it’s going to play out. They picked up his fifth-year option. A lot of players, they don’t get that option. But it’s money, and I understand that. Like I said, he’s not the first and he’s not going to be the last. It’s part of the game.”