The Las Vegas Raiders have absolutely no business being buyers at the trade deadline. They're 2-6 during the 2025 NFL season, which puts them in the cellar of the AFC West by a wide margin. Plus, their remaining schedule is daunting, to say the least.
But with a 74-year-old head coach in Pete Carroll, the Raiders are focused on winning now, because if not now for Carroll, then when? He said as much during his Monday media availability, as he dispelled any notion that the team was looking toward the future and not trying to improve in the short term.
With that idea in mind, Las Vegas general manager John Spytek should be looking to add some talent to the building with the trade deadline practically here. Unfortunately, on Tuesday morning, they missed out on an opportunity to add a good player at a position of need for a relatively low cost.
Raiders sit idly by as Cowboys swoop in for Bengals LB Logan Wilson
After eccentric Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on Monday that the team had a trade in place, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report on Tuesday morning that the Cowboys had struck a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals for linebacker Logan Wilson.
We recently wrote about why Wilson would be a great fit in Las Vegas as a potential Germaine Pratt replacement, but it seems like the Raiders were caught asleep at the wheel. After all, it only took a 7th-round pick for Dallas to pry Wilson from Cincinnati.
Wilson is fairly expensive for a linebacker, as he carries cap hits of $6.6 million and $7.2 million in 2026 and 2027. But there is an out in his deal after this year, so if he failed his audition in the next nine games, the Raiders could have squirmed out of the contract without paying him anything more.
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Las Vegas does not have a single linebacker who plays any significant snaps under contract next season. Devin White, Jamal Adams and Elandon Roberts are all on one-year deals, and young players on rookie contracts like Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg never see the field.
So, it would have benefited the Raiders to land a multi-talented linebacker for a mere 7th-round pick, especially because it was a low-risk proposition from a financial perspective as well. But as the new regime has seemingly been fine with doing, they sat around and waited, mulling over their options.
Perhaps Spytek's lack of aggression is a sign that he and Carroll aren't on the same page about how to approach the trade deadline and build for the future. One can hope, at least. But there is also a chance that the Raiders were simply outbid or putpursued for Wilson, who could have made both an instant and long-term impact in Las Vegas.