Should the Las Vegas Raiders have traded Darren Waller?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have not gotten much production out of Darren Waller this season, and they could have traded him away to the Green Bay Packers.
This offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders did something that a lot of the fan base was hoping they would do, and that was to sign, Darren Waller, to a new contract. Since coming over from Baltimore, Waller has rounded into one of the best tight ends in the NFL, so to keep him around, a raise was necessary.
However, the tight end has not been very productive during the 2022 season, as he has battled through injuries, and learning a new system under Josh McDaniels. This has caused some of the fan base to lose patience with him, and a few even call for the team to trade him during the 2022 trade deadline.
While Waller stayed with the Raiders, the franchise did have offers for him, as the Green Bay Packers were trying to get him in a deal. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Packers were in on both Waller and Chase Claypool but were unable to come to terms on a deal for either.
Should the Raiders have traded Waller?
According to the piece, the asking price was too high for Waller, an indication of what this new regime thinks of their star tight end. While details were not laid out in the article, you would have to think the Raiders wanted at least a few second-round picks for him, if not more.
Green Bay certainly needs weapons after trading star wideout Davante Adams to the Silver and Black this offseason, and the team was trying to get Waller to be a part of that deal then.
While Waller has been quite ineffective or available this season, the Silver and Black should not have traded him away. Once he gets healthy, he will go back to being one of the best in the game at his position, and that should be an instant boost to an offense that failed to make it across the 50-yard line until the fourth quarterback last Sunday.