It's officially June, which means on thing in the world of NFL content: hypotheticals. It's no one's fault specifically – they can't play football all year around (as hard as The Rock and UFL are trying), so it's right around now when we all start trying to figure out how to spend the time between now and training camp. It's unglamorous work, but someone's gotta do it.
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And what's more hypothetical than the never-ending Michael Mayer trade debate? Mayer's basically been on fake internet trade lists since the moment he entered the NFL, which is kinda bizarre for a former second-round pick who's 23 years old and only been in the league for two seasons. That's life when you play next to Brock Bowers, I guess.
So it should surprise absolutely no one that, in a long list of trades that each NFL team could pull off this summer, Bleacher Report continued their crusade to get Mayer on a team that's actually going to throw him the ball.
Bleacher Report is convinced that the Raiders are going to trade Michael Mayer soon
"There may not be a more obvious candidate on this list than Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer. When the Raiders drafted Mayer in 2023, the former Notre Dame star was regarded by many as the No. 1 tight end in his class. In each of his last two collegiate seasons, Mayer topped 70 catches and 800 receiving yards. However, the former second-round pick was quiet as a rookie, and then Brock Bowers' arrival in Sin City well and truly silenced Mayer’s production ... The Raiders can use all the help they can get in the passing game. But the team also has holes to fill on both sides of the ball—and Mayer is the most valuable trade asset the Raiders can afford to lose."
I guess I get it – Mayer has too much potential at a position of relative strength to avoid these types of 'rumors.' But maybe, just maybe, if you're the Raiders, you deal with the tragedy of having [checks notes] two good players at one position? If only there were personnel sets that feature multiple tight ends! If only Bowers was more versatile! What a world that'd be.