At 4-5 after Sunday's return to the Bay Area against the San Francisco 49ers, the Las Vegas Raiders are in a weird position ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. There are not a clear-cut seller, like could've been pessimistically forecasted heading into the season, nor are they a clear-cut buyer who should be mortaging future assets in an effort to maximize this season.
John Spytek is also, in some ways, in an enviable position with the time before the trade deadline now able to be measured in hours. He has players other teams may want, but he can hang onto every one of them and not be wrong. The best way to sum that up is to call it leverage, which suffice to say is rare air for a Raiders' lead front office executive.
It's plausible, and leaning toward likely, that the Raiders sit idle at the trade deadline, and there'd be no complaints about that from the fanbase. While Spytek surely has his eyes open to anything, he will not be forced to do something "just because."
Here are five last-minute Raiders trade ideas that Spytek will surely be offered, but can easily just avoid.
5 last-minute Raiders trade notions John Spytek can ignore
5. A trade for a WR in the bargain bin
4. A trade for a WR involving a bidding war
While there's definitely a case for the Raiders to trade for a wide receiver, it shouldn't be forced or involve just anyone for the sake of adding another body.
There also aren't many notable names clearly out there. One (Josh Downs) is known to have asked for a trade, with a third-round pick attached to him as the Indianapolis Colts' asking price, with multiple teams interested.
Other feasible potential options, like Jerry Jeudy (Cleveland Browns), Kayshon Boutte (Houston Texans), Darnell Mooney (New York Giants) or Dontayvion Wicks (Philadelphia Eagles), don't move the needle enough. They also aren't good long-term options to be the WR1 the Las Vegas offense needs.
The No. 1 wide receiver target for the Raiders before the trade deadline, with some gap between he and any others, has to be Brian Thomas Jr. The Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to say he has value to them, when everything else says otherwise.
Multiple teams have reportedly called about him, so the Jaguars have leverage there if they want to use it. Getting involved in a bidding war for Thomas or Downs (less so Thomas, if it came to that) wouldn't be a good idea for Spytek.
A proverbial dive into the bargain bin for a wide receiver doesn't feel worth it either, since whoever it is would mostly only block playing time from someone who may have a future in Silver and Black.
3. Christian Barmore, when there are better DT options out there
The Raiders could certainly use a defensive tackle who can get push in the run game and/or generate pass rush pressure. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer has reported that Barmore, who has fallen behind in the pecking order for the New England Patriots, could be available.
And Breer reinforced it during a more recent segment on NBC Sports Boston.
"My understanding is the price would be about a fourth-round pick, and he may be tradable because if you look at his contract, he's making $13.3 million this year," Breer said. "So you'd be taking on a prorated number off of that if you did trade for him. His numbers balloon after this year. ... Those numbers aren't guaranteed."
Barmore has 3.5 sacks while playing half of New England's defensive snaps entering Week 9. But his 44.8 Pro Football Focus run defense grade is beyond sub-optimal, and it was even worse last year (33.6), when he was credited with 12 missed tackles.
Add in off-field character concerns, which would need to be fully vetted, in fairness, and you have someone Spytek and the Raiders don't really need to have on their radar as the clock ticks toward the trade deadline.
2. Anything less than a second-round pick for Kirk Cousins
The Raiders' plan for their quarterback situation, with Cousins holding down the fort until Fernando Mendoza is deemed ready, couldn't really be going any better so far. Cousins' numbers have been inflated by garbage time in a couple of games, but he has generally played well.
And while Week 9 was a disaster, the team still lingers around .500, which means that the idea of starting Mendoza may be on the backburner, whether that's the right call or not.
There has been all kinds of speculation about the Minnesota Vikings, with their Kyler Murray experiment off the rails, possibly looking to bring Cousins back. If the Raiders were 3-6 or 2-7, leaving aside how he is performing, it would make sense for them to sell him to a desperate suitor.
In terms of other potential suitors for Cousins in the time crunch before the deadline, look no further than the Baltimore Ravens for how quickly a team's quarterback situation can change. In Week 8, they lost Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to long-term injuries, leaving them with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano for the rest of that game and to start on a short week.
In a fairly desperate situation, with no reports of a call to the Raiders about Cousins, the Ravens have given up two draft picks to get Jacoby Brissett from the Arizona Cardinals.
If real trade interest in Cousins comes at this point, there's a narrow set of likeliest scenarios. Maybe a top contending team lost its starting quarterback during Sunday's Week 9 action. If something happens to Carson Wentz while filling in for Murray on Monday night, or Wentz simply doesn't play well, the Vikings may up the ante at the wire on Tuesday.
In those situations, a team may offer a second-round pick (or more) for Cousins. Shy of that, Spytek should hang onto the veteran signal-caller and not apologize for it.
1. Almost any trade offer for Maxx Crosby
Crosby would not be a Raider today if the Baltimore Ravens hadn't conveniently forgotten about his knee surgery recovery timeline back in March. So when it comes to the idea of trading him, there's certainly a "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase vibe regarding "everybody's got a price."
Through his own words, it's clear Crosby wants to be a Raider, and there have been strong indications the team has no desire to move him right now.
Crosby also remains the driving force for the Las Vegas pass rush, as the team sits on the fringe of playoff contention with the trade deadline looming. While a case can be made to be a buyer or a seller, depending on the specific situation with a player, trading the man who remains the best defensive player on the team would send the wrong message to the rest of the locker room.
As long as the Raiders aren't a top-tier team, trade speculation will never be very far from Crosby's name, and trade rumors will surely ramp up again come the offseason. But for now, shy of a huge offer that shouldn't be turned down, the conversation should be put to bed.
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