The Las Vegas Raiders have had an active offseason, and the roster is starting to take shape in the vision of head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady. While they might not have done everything they wanted to in their first year, this offseason has been a good start.
It's also fair to say that it's going to be a tall task to climb the AFC West standings. The other three teams in the division were playoff teams last year, and they aren't going anywhere. The Raiders could be markedly better this season and still not win any division games.
If one was listing the weakest spots on the Raiders' roster right now, cornerback and linebacker would be the top two by consensus. Sports Illustrated's Hondo Carpenter fortified that notion on a recent episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast, but he said that this could change by the end of the season.
Raiders insider offers up a bold, all-in trade idea
Carpenter then talked about possible trades for the Raiders, but he went away from adding a linebacker or a cornerback. In fact, he pivoted toward adding someone at arguably Las Vegas' strongest position group.
“If I could make a trade right now, I would call the Cincinnati Bengals and trade for Trey Hendrickson," Carpenter said. "He is the best defensive tackle, and the Raiders have the cap space.”
Of course, Hendrickson is an edge rusher, not a defensive tackle, but Carpenter's point is well-received. Hendrickson is the reigning NFL sack leader, with back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons on his resume. He has also been publicly unhappy with his contract situation with the Bengals going back more than a year.
“He’s very, very young. [I would] sign him to a mega-deal," Carpenter added. "And you now have Christian Wilkins, Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby, Adam Butler, Malcolm Koonce. ... I [would] make that trade right now. Because I don’t think there is a linebacker like that available, or a corner. So what do you do? You double down on your strength."
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Carpenter missed once again by calling the 30-year-old Hendrickson "very, very young." He also wants to be paid what the edge rusher market says he's worth based on how he has performed, andhe is not holding back on calling the Bengals out every chance he gets.
According to Over The Cap, the Raiders currently have $36.16 million in cap space available for this year, so they could comfortably take on Hendrickson's contract. Trading for him, of course, also means that Las Vegas will have to give him the kind of contract he wants for the future. Fortunately, the Raiders are well-equipped to do so looking at their cap space for 2026 and 2027.
The Bengals allowed Hendrickson to seek a trade earlier this offseason, and it's clear that no team was willing to meet their asking price. If he's truly willing to sit out, maybe that asking price softens and the Raiders would be among the teams to consider making an offer.
It will certainly take some calculated risks for the Raiders to climb to relevancy in a brutal AFC. The sheer idea of trading for Hendrickson feels impractical and unlikely, but it's just the type of move that would tell the rest of the AFC West (and then some) that they mean business.