Raiders once again floated as landing spot for star QB seeking contract

Gardner Minshew is the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback right now but it's hard to imagine that will be the case in Week 1 of next season. He's very much a stopgap option for the team as they continue to search for a franchise quarterback.

However, this year proved that drafting one won't be easy. The Raiders will likely have to give up significant draft capital to get one unless they're really bad this season. There's one option where Las Vegas can play well this season and still land a franchise quarterback next offseason.

The Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott don't appear close on a contract extension which could mean he'll be a free agent next offseason. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio thinks the Raiders are an obvious fit.

"The Raiders missed out on one of the six first-round quarterbacks picked in 2024. They’re rolling the dice with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell," Florio wrote. "If it doesn’t work, Dak becomes an obvious option for 2025. Of course, Dak would have to want to jump into a division that includes Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix (if he ends up being a keeper). But the Raiders, barring a playoff berth in 2024, could be an option."

Fans may not be keen on paying a quarterback with a 2-5 playoff record $60+ million a year, but the Raiders have a 0-2 playoff record since 2003. Just getting back to the playoff consistently would be huge for Las Vegas.

Prescott led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes last season and finished second in MVP voting. He'd be a massive upgrade over what the Raiders have. Plus, they wouldn't have to give up anything to get him. They can hold onto all of their picks.

Now, it's still not ideal. Prescott would eat up a massive amount of cap space, which would make it difficult to keep all of their impact players. It's hard to win a Super Bowl with a quarterback making that type of money unless the quarterback is an all-time legend. Prescott is good but he's not an all-timer.

The Raiders would have to weigh how important it is to be relevant right now vs. long-term upside. With the team still trying to build a fan base in Las Vegas, it may make more business sense to go after the quick fix.