Should the Raiders consider bringing back Trent Brown?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have a hole at the right tackle spot, and with Trent Brown being a free agent, should they bring him back to the fold?
One of the key free-agent pickups for the Raiders during the 2019 offseason was right tackle Trent Brown, considered a Pro Bowl talent with the New England Patriots. With the Raiders, he got off to a strong start, making the Pro Bowl in his first season with the team, but showing a tendency to miss games due to injury.
In fairness, some of the time missed was not his fault, as he was injected with air before a game against the Cleveland Browns in November of the 2020 season. This came after he missed five games during the 2019 campaign, so in a possible 32 games in the Silver and Black, Brown only played in half.
Brown also left the franchise on bad terms, being traded away in March of 2021. He would move right back into the starting lineup for the New England Patriots, current head coach Josh McDaniels’s old team, and while he battled some injuries once again, he did play all of the snaps down the stretch, including in the playoffs.
With a new regime in place, could the Raiders bring back Brown for another go-around in the Silver and Black? The fans may have soured on him, but he will be a lot cheaper than he was back in 2019 and would fix one of the biggest holes on this roster.
Raiders have a giant hole at RT entering the offseason
The truth of the matter is, the Raiders need help at right tackle, as they have an All-Pro caliber left tackle in Kolton Miller, and also have a new group calling the shots. The days of Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden are gone, and so could be the bad blood between Brown and this franchise, so it is not out of the question for them to at least kick the tires on bringing him back this offseason.
McDaniels and Ziegler trusted him enough to bring him back into the fold in New England, and they could very well do the same in Las Vegas. If healthy, he is a significant upgrade from last season, and McDaniels is going to want to give Derek Carr all the protection he can get next season.
Of course, the Raiders could go several different ways outside of Brown if they hope to fill the void at the right tackle spot. The draft is loaded with Day 1 and 2 talent at the position group, and free agency has some exciting names as well, so if Brown is not the answer, they should find it elsewhere.