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The wheeling and dealing continues for the Las Vegas Raiders. General manager Dave Ziegler has already made several trades this offseason, including a recent one of Tyree Gillespie to the Tennessee Titans. Ziegler has only been a general manager for several months now but it’s clear that he likes to make trades where he can.
With the regular season getting closer, the Raiders have decided to deal one of their quarterbacks. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Las Vegas is sending Nick Mullens to the Minnesota Vikings for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2024.
The return for Mullens isn’t great as it’s not much more compensation than just simply releasing him. However, it’s better to get something than nothing. Mullens has proven to be a capable backup quarterback in the past and should be a solid option behind Kirk Cousins, who rarely gets hurt and has missed just two games in the last seven seasons. The Vikings should feel a bit better about their backup situation now.
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Jarrett Stidham Won the Backup QB Job
This trade is great news for Jarrett Stidham. The former New England Patriots backup was traded to the Raiders this offseason so that he could reunite with Josh McDaniels. He had a leg up over the other quarterbacks on the roster due to his familiarity with the system.
It was clear early on that Stidham was winning the competition for the backup quarterback spot. He has put together a strong training camp so far and has started each of the Raiders’ three preseason games. Stidham is also a good resource for McDaniels to have as he might understand the offense better than anybody on the roster right now. Now it’ll be interesting to see how many quarterbacks the Raiders keep on the roster. Chase Garbers is the only other with the team outside of Derek Carr and Stidham. He could be a candidate to make the practice squad once training camp ends.
Stidham Is Loving Being a Raider
Stidham got to play for one of the greatest coaches in sports history Bill Belichick. However, the Patriots’ stock has been falling in recent years since Tom Brady left. Stidham was not sad when he got traded to Las Vegas.
“I was obviously thrilled that it was to here because I’ve been with Zig [Dave Ziegler] and Josh [McDaniels] and Mick [Lombardi] and Carm [Carmen Bricillo] and Bo [Hardegree], all those guys for the last couple years,” Stidham said recently, via Raiders.com. “I was happy to come here and be a part of this organization, for sure.”
Though Stidham has yet to have a chance to make an impact in regular season games, he’s happy with how things have turned out for him.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Stidam said of his football journey. “I was very fortunate to grow up in a place like Stephenville where its blue collar, you just work really hard, usually we win a lot of games. Very fortunate to be from a place like that. Going into college, Baylor, Auburn, it’s been a lot of fun. Then obviously playing the last three years in New England and now here, it’s been a blessing.”
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