Just Blog Baby
FanSided

Could the Oakland Raiders be shopping Sio Moore?

By Chase Ruttig

facebooktwitterreddit

Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Sio Moore is in a tough place with a new coaching staff as of late as head coach Jack Del Rio made it public that the starter under former head coach Dennis Allen and interim head coach Tony Sparano would be beginning the season as a role player on the new look Raiders defense. Moore’s rehab from offseason hip surgery a likely factor in the decision, but the comments were a sign that the new coaches may not value the former third round pick as much as the former coaching staff had in the past.

Then came Sunday night’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals where a healthy Moore suited up, but was given zero defensive snaps. Even sitting out while the second and third team units came onto the field. A definite surprise considering that it appeared that the Raiders wanted Moore to fight for his playing time, making it eyebrow raising that the player didn’t even see the field at outside linebacker.

As you could expect the benching of Moore has drawn speculation on Monday over the future of the linebacker in Oakland, with many who cover the team throwing it out there that the Raiders could decide to see if they can get some sort of trade value out of the player who is on a cheap rookie contract if they don’t think he fits their new identity as a team. The precedent of the Raiders willingness to move on from a young player who isn’t fitting their new look already there after the team cut Jonathan Dowling on Saturday.

Moore is a popular player, but his antics on social media and on the field may not be welcome with Jack Del Rio and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. Factoring in the hip injury that could slow down the explosive playmaker and the Raiders could simply just not want him around for the final two years of his rookie contract which would make a trade block scenario feasible if an interested team was willing to negotiate for a draft pick or a player in exchange for the linebacker.

Based on the unlikeliness of trades in the NFL, Moore could still stick around and chip his way back into playing time, but after getting benched for the third preseason game it is looking like the linebacker is not as valued as he once was in the organization. Whether it is due to his injury or because of off the field stuff, Moore’s status with the Raiders is going to be a point of discussion until the regular season begins. Whether the team addresses the situation with a trade or by riding it out and seeing if Moore can earn himself playing time remains to be seen, but after getting no defensive snaps in the third preseason game there is definitely a rift between the coaches towards Moore on some level that needs to be figured out before it becomes a distraction.

More from Just Blog Baby

Home/Las Vegas Raiders News