This offseason, the overarching priority for the Las Vegas Raiders is undoubtedly under center. With new minority owner Tom Brady having a hand in things, now, you can bet this organization wants to get the position right.
As of Friday morning, the Raiders were in on the Matthew Stafford trade conversations and appeared to be a big player in the conversation.
After weeks of speculation over whether he would return to the LA Rams, Stafford indeed decided to stay put. He and the Rams came to an agreement on a deal that would keep him in Los Angeles, thus taking what hope the Raiders had in acquiring him and putting it to bed.
Stafford even reportedly took less money to stay with the Rams, which to be quite frank, does make sense on his part.
Now, it's on to Plan B (and so on) for the Raiders as far as their quarterback situation goes.
One decision did come very soon after the Stafford news on Friday, though, as the Raiders announced they would not be tendering restricted free agent quarterback Desmond Ridder. Instead, Ridder will get set to hit the open market as the Raiders still have multiple quarterbacks under contract -- for now.
Which quarterback makes the most sense after the Raiders missed out on Matthew Stafford?
With Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew under contract still, Las Vegas is undoubtedly going to be pursuing another passer.
Aside from Stafford, the Raiders still have some options. But, are any of them worthwhile? This isn't a team that's going to compete for a Super Bowl in 2025, by all accounts. Still, finding a competent quarterback will at least help Pete Carroll and his new staff try and turn a corner.
Speaking of Carroll, one option might be to go sign Russell Wilson and reunite the two. Of course, Wilson's teammate in Pittsburgh last year, Justin Fields, is another option.
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Las Vegas could try and sign one of Sam Darnold or Jameis Winston, or even go out and try another aging veteran like Aaron Rodgers -- although the Giants are in on Rodgers, as of right now.
If not the veteran market, the Raiders still own this year's no. 6 overall pick and have a chance to either land a quarterback right where they're at or trade up just a bit to ensure they get their guy. The big storyline with this year's quarterback class, though, is the idea that there is no true franchise quarterback available.
Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward or maybe even Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe could prove that notion wrong. But, the odds are stacked against them right now.