The Las Vegas Raiders didn’t do much at the trade deadline, but they did the right thing by moving Jakobi Meyers. Getting two solid Day 3 picks in exchange for a player that didn’t want to be in Las Vegas, and surely wasn’t going to be there in 2026, is a win.
They also made the right decision by holding onto players like Michael Mayer, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Eric Stokes and Tyree Wilson, despite there being rumors that other NFL teams were interested in their services.
Even though this was a great first trade deadline for general manager John Spytek, there were still a handful of other moves that Las Vegas could have made to both bolster the current roster and provide more resources for the future.
Raiders might regret not getting these 3 trade deadline deals done
1. Trading away Zamir White
White hasn’t played since Week 5, and he has no real future in Las Vegas either. Ashton Jeanty will be the bellcow for as long as he remains healthy and wears the Silver and Black, and in the final year of his rookie deal, White just doesn’t fit into the equation.
Las Vegas would not have gotten much for White, but something tells me that Josh McDaniels could have convinced the New England Patriots’ front office to send a conditional 7th-round pick to the Raiders amid their running back injuries to land a player he once drafted and loved.
2. Trading for linebacker Logan Wilson
When Wilson requested a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals last month, we wrote about why he would be a good fit for the Raiders. Specifically, he would fill the void left by the recently released Germaine Pratt as the team’s top coverage linebacker.
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However, Las Vegas missed out on Wilson, as the Dallas Cowboys swooped in at the price of a measly 7th-round pick. While he might not have been a complete game-changer, he would have instantly become the Raiders’ best linebacker and their only long-term option at the position.
3. Trading away a veteran linebacker
None of Las Vegas’ top three linebackers (Devin White, Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams) is under contract next season. White has put together some solid performances, and Adams has been a strong contributor throughout the year as well.
The Raiders wouldn’t have gotten much for either of them, but trying to snag a pick for any number of players who may not be on next year’s roster would have been good business. This is not necessarily a big deal, but by trading one of them, Pete Carroll would have been forced to play at least one of Las Vegas’ young linebackers.
