While it has been only five years since the team played its last game in the Bay Area, very few players remain on the roster from the Raiders' time in Oakland.
Part of this is because many players have retired from the NFL or never even panned out in the first place. Another component of it, however, is that the Raiders could never keep their best players in the building.
Whether it was making poor decisions in free agency or unstable front offices making ill-advised trades that never worked out, the franchise has endured its share of roster mishaps in recent years.
Raiders in danger of having dream free agent WR poached by hated rival
Fortunately, this offseason, Las Vegas has a chance to right one of its wrongs. After trading away star wide receiver Amari Cooper during the peak of his prime in 2018, the Raiders can re-sign the now 30-year-old receiver as a free agent.
He would immediately bolster their pass-catching corps, which currently contains many question marks. However, CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin proposed that instead of landing with the Raiders, Cooper would be better-suited signing with their bitter AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos.
"Denver waited until Round 3 of the draft to address wide receiver with Pat Bryant, and Evan Engram is onboard as the new No. 1 tight end," wrote Benjamin. "Still, young quarterback Bo Nix could use an added safety valve out wide, and Cooper, though slowing at age 30, could still be a reliable route-runner for Sean Payton."
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The sting of losing Cooper as a rising star in 2018 was brutal enough for Raider Nation, but to watch him turn around and sign with the Broncos would be like twisting the knife. Many always felt that he would return home to the Silver and Black eventually, but that ship would sail if he chose to suit up for Denver.
Nix could indeed use a receiver like Cooper at this point in his career, but so could Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith. Jakobi Meyers is a sure set of hands, but Tre Tucker has been underwhelming, and rookies Jack Bech, Dont'e Thornton and Tommy Mellott are all unproven commodities.
Cooper would be a cheap endeavor at this stage of his career, and he likely still has some tread on the tires as a playmaker. The Raiders cannot let the Broncos get in the way of one of their dream wide receiver targets in free agency.