As the November 4 trade deadline gets closer, Jakobi Meyers' time as a Las Vegas Raider seems to be winding down. He recently reaffirmed his desire to be moved, and he seems resolute that the multi-year contract security he wants will have to come from elsewhere.
Meyers missed the game before the Raiders' bye week due to injury, but some assume that caution was the word in order to protect his appeal to trade suitors. The Week 9 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, if he's healthy enough to play, might be Meyers' last in the Silver and Black.
The odds Meyers is traded may not be seen as very high from the outside. But if he is not moved by the deadline, the Raiders are inviting a potential headache for the remainder of the season while also blocking the on-field development of two top rookies for the rest of the year.
Meyers would fit on several teams that need help at wide receiver, with the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers frequently coming up. Since it's well-known that his future in Las Vegas is shaky, general manager John Spytek is surely taking calls.
Raiders may have a perfect trade suitor for Jakobi Meyers
Moe Moton of Sportsnaut recently offered three trades that the Raiders should make before the deadline. One, of course, included Meyers, with a destination that has not been widely mentioned yet.
"Las Vegas should send Meyers to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and command at least a fourth-round pick in return," Moton wrote. "Spytek has a history with the Buccaneers front office. Also, Tampa Bay needs help at receiver with Mike Evans on injured reserve, Chris Godwin sidelined with a fibula injury, and rookie Emeka Egbuka dealing with a hamstring injury."
Spytek, of course, came to the Raiders after years of working in the Tampa Bay front office under general manager Jason Licht. The Buccaneers are also depleted at wide receiver, as Moton noted. Evans, if he is able to return this year, won't do so until late in the regular season or in the playoffs.
Godwin returned from the fractured left ankle he suffered last season to play just two games. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has said his season is not in jeopardy, but he'll miss a third straight game in Week 8 with a fibula injury to the same leg.
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Second-year Tampa Bay wideout Jalen McMillan's return date from a preseason neck injury is not coming until after their bye in Week 9, and even that doesn't seem certain. Egbuka, the rookie, is dealing with a hamstring injury, so the bye week is coming at a good time for him.
The 5-2 NFC South-leading Buccaneers look like an obvious trade deadline buyer, perhaps with some focus on wide receiver, given all the injury uncertainty they have at the position. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones begs to differ, though.
"One team that likely won't be competing with the Broncos or Steelers for a wideout is Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers lost Mike Evans for most of the remaining season on Monday night, and he's in the final year of his contract, too," Jones wrote. "But the Bucs are getting Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan back from injury this season. Bucs GM Jason Licht isn't usually a big swinger at the trade deadline, and he and his group have had excellent drafts in recent years."
The Buccaneers might be able to get by with whoever they can cobble together at wide receiver over the rest of the season. But a proven veteran like Meyers looks to be a good fit, and Spytek's history with Licht could uniquely help foster a deal that works for both sides.