Should Raiders trade TE who is seeing limited snaps?

The Las Vegas Raiders may need to trade one of their tight ends.
Las Vegas Raiders TE Harrison Bryant.
Las Vegas Raiders TE Harrison Bryant. / Ric Tapia/GettyImages
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Not that there was ever a doubt, but Brock Bowers is the real deal. In fact, he might be looked at as the best tight end in football by the end of the season. While that's great for the Las Vegas Raiders, it does present some issues.

Michael Mayer is going to take up pretty much all of the TE2 snaps, which leaves Harrison Bryant on the outside looking in. He's only played 11 snaps through two games and could be expendable. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes the Raiders should consider trading Bryant.

"If Las Vegas continues to trend upward, it could be a buyer ahead of the deadline," Knox wrote. "Tight end Harrison Bryant is one of its most logical trade chips.

"Rookie tight end Brock Bowers continues to look like an instant star, and the Raiders have a stellar No. 2 tight end in 2023 second-round pick Michael Mayer. This makes Bryant somewhat expendable, even though he's a capable receiving threat."

If he's only going to play 9% of the offensive snaps, there isn't much of a reason to keep him. He's a capable tight end and has started 30 games in his career. There should be interest in him around the league if the Raiders are willing to listen.

Now, the team shouldn't expect much of a return. They probably can't get anything more than a sixth-round pick for him. Bryant is the Raiders' best blocking tight end and could have value if Mayer or Bowers get hurt at all this season. A sixth-round pick isn't that appealing of an asset.

Las Vegas may prefer to keep their tight end depth strong and keep Bryant unless a team gets desperate and makes a strong offer. For now, the Raiders aren't likely to make any big trades until they get a better idea of what they have.

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