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Here’s a look at the latest news, rumors, updates and viral moments for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Davante Adams Requests Trade
It appeared to be headed in this direction after head coach Antonio Pierce liked an Instagram post that suggested Davante Adams was going to get traded, but now there’s some concrete information. According to an October 1 X post from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Adams has told the Raiders that he’d like to get traded.
This appears to be Adams’ attempt to regain control of the narrative after Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the team was exploring trading him. Rapoport did note that there is a scenario where Adams doesn’t leave the team.
This situation seems beyond repair and it’s likely that Adams will be on a new team in the coming weeks. He has consistently said that he doesn’t want to get traded but there’s been a big change. Time will tell if he gets what he wants.
Raiders Down 3 Starters vs. Browns
The Raiders have been dropping concerning injury reports this week with both defensive end Maxx Crosby and wide receiver Davante Adams missing practices. However, neither player has missed a single since joining the team, but that’s about to change.
Head coach Antonio Pierce announced that both Adams and Crosby have been ruled out for the Week 4 game against the Browns. He also noted that starting tight end Michael Mayer will also not be playing.
It’s hard to put into words how big of a loss this is for Las Vegas. Crosby and Adams are the Raiders’ two best and most expensive players. The Browns are also seriously beat up so this may even the playing field a bit. Regardless, the Raiders are in big trouble heading into Week 4.
Raiders Held Team Meeting After Panthers Loss
It’s early in the season but the Raiders are already dealing with some drama. The Monday following the upset loss in the home opener to the Panthers, the team held a meeting between players and coaches.
Typically, it’s not a great sign when teams have to have these big meetings this early in a season but the players think it was productive.
“[This] meeting was huge because it wasn’t just about players, it was about everybody. The whole building,” running back Zamir White said on Wednesday. “We really got personal, and we talked about it, and we learned from it.”
Look, it’s good that the players thought the meeting was worthwhile but this has to be concerning. The main reason Antonio Pierce was hired as head coach was due to his ability to get players to buy into his message. It’s three games into his tenure and it sounds like players are already checking out. This is a situation to watch if the Raiders keep losing.
Gardner Minshew Still QB1 For Now
After the embarrassing Week 3 performance against the Panthers, there was speculation the Raiders could consider giving Aidan O’Connell a shot at leading the offense. However, the team might not be ready to pull the trigger on such a move yet.
According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Minshew is in line to start against the Browns in Week 4.
While the Raiders offense has been pretty lifeless most of the season, it’s not entirely on Minshew. According to Pro Football Focus, Las Vegas has the third-worst offensive line in the NFL. That’s not to mention that they have the worst rushing offense in the league right now. There aren’t many quarterbacks who would be able to thrive in that type of environment.
Antonio Pierce Not Ruling Out QB Change
The Raiders are coming off their worst loss of the Antonio Pierce era and it’s clear things aren’t working on offense. Gardner Minshew hasn’t been terrible but he also hasn’t been able to keep the offense moving.
In Week 3 against the Panthers, Aidan O’Connell came in late in the game and led a scoring drive. Though it was garbage time, he showed that he could move the ball. While it may be too early to make a big quarterback change, Pierce isn’t ruling out a switch to O’Connell for Week 3 against the Browns.
“I think we’ve got to get with the players and evaluate everything from yesterday first,” Pierce said during his September 23 press conference.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Minshew is benched yet but it sounds like Pierce is open to making a change if the offense doesn’t get better soon. This will be a situation to watch in the coming days.
Antonio Pierce Betting on Jackson Powers-Johnson to Make Debut
The Raiders’ offensive line hasn’t played well through the first two weeks of the season. Luckily, reinforcements could be on the way. Second-round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson was drafted to be the team’s starting left guard but he missed much of training camp with an injury.
He has yet to be active for the first two games of the season due to an unexplained illness. Powers-Johnson appears to be nearing his NFL debut and could play in in Week 3 vs. the Panthers. Head coach Antonio Pierce revealed in his Wednesday press conference that if he were a betting man, he’d bet on Powers-Johnson playing this week.
That’s a good sign for the Raiders as the offensive line play has been wanting. There will be a learning curve for Powers-Johnson but he can’t be much worse than what the team has gotten so far through two games.
Raiders Facing Andy Dalton in Week 3 Instead of Bryce Young
The Raiders’ defense had to be licking their chops ahead of the Week 3 matchup against the Carolina Panthers knowing that they were supposed to face Bryce Young. However, that won’t be the case any longer.
Panthers head coach Dave Caneles announced that Young is being benched in favor of Andy Dalton. Carolina was outscored 73-13 in the first two games and Young could only muster three interceptions and no touchdown passes. While the Panthers are a mess and might be the worst team in the NFL, Dalton is 3-0 all-time against the Raiders.
They can’t afford to overlook Carolina based on how the first two games looked. The offense could have a bit of a boost with Dalton under center but the roster is so devoid of talent that it’s hard to imagine them being too competitive.
Raiders Locker Room Hyped After Ravens Win
Almost nobody in the media projected the Raiders to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 and through three quarters, it looked like they’d be right. However, the offense came alive in the fourth quarter and turned a 13-23 deficit into a 26-23 win.
Head coach Antonio Pierce garnered some criticism in Week 1 for poor decision-making, but he was able to show off what he does best in Week 2: Keeping the team together through adversity. Following the win, Pierce dropped yet another epic speech that had the locker room hyped.
If there’s anything the coach knows how to do, it’s give a great postgame speech. He even got tight end Brock Bowers doing the famous “RAIDERS” chant. Vibes were down following a bad Week 1 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers but things are looking a lot brighter with a Week 2 win over one of the AFC’s best teams.
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