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The trade deadline is nearing for the NFL and there have been an increasing number of deals happening. The Las Vegas Raiders have been active on the trade market since Dave Ziegler was hired as general manager and he continues to be. The team has a litany of veteran defensive linemen and has decided to move on from one of their longest-tenured players.
The Raiders announced that they’ve traded defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Hankins joined the Raiders in 2018 and has started 61 games for the team in that time. He’s consistently been one of their top run stuffers but he saw himself fall out of the rotation this season. He played in just 37% of the team’s defensive snaps after playing over 50% of them in each of the last four seasons. A sixth-round pick doesn’t really help the Raiders right now but it’s better to get something for a player that they didn’t see as necessary.
The Cowboys are getting a savvy veteran who has played a lot of games in the NFL. Dallas has one of the top defenses in the league right now and Hankins should provide some depth and help in run defense.
Could There Be Another Raiders Trade Coming?
It’s possible that Hankins is just the first shoe to drop for the Raiders before the trade deadline. Previously, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram could be traded. Both players haven’t played a ton of snaps in recent weeks but do get a decent amount of playing time. Neither would net the Raiders much of a return so trading them might be pointless.
Las Vegas can still get back into the playoffs but a loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday could lead the team to try and sell off some assets. Josh Jacobs has arguably been the team’s best player but he could be a valuable trade piece if the Raiders don’t think they can make the playoffs this season. If the team still thinks the playoffs are realistic, they could try to add a piece or two.
Dave Ziegler Talks NFL Trade Deadline
This is Ziegler’s first trade deadline as a general manager so it’ll be interesting to see how he operates. He’s clearly not afraid to cut deals but he did recently acknowledge that the trade presents a number of unique challenges.
“It’s challenging,” Ziegler said on the “Raiders Podcast Network.” “And I’ve been involved in some trades at the deadline in the past and it’s difficult because when you’re looking at the NFL, 1: draft picks are so valuable and so, you have to find the right team, if someone’s willing to give up a pick for a player, they have to be in a position where they feel like they can give up a pick, so that’s one thing. The other aspect is salary and what type of salary you’re taking on, how many years are left on that contract, and then what does that equate to the value of the player? A player on the last year of his contract that’s going to be an eight-game rental is going to be, hopefully, less expensive than a player that has two years left on the contract. And then, they have to be a system fit.”
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