The greatest personnel question for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason is still what they will do at quarterback. There are interesting alternatives for the team to handle it through trade, the draft, or free agency.
So far, the draft and free agency have garnered the majority of attention. Kirk Cousins has been suggested for the latter, and there have also been rumours of trading up for Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels. However, the Raiders appear to be interested in a very gifted young quarterback who may also be obtained by trade.
Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reports that the Raiders are seriously considering a trade for quarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears:
There’s another team that I’m told has genuine interest in acquiring Fields and will explore trading for him: the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the team signed to a three-year, $67.5-million deal just last year, is on his way out and is expected to be cut by the organization. Garoppolo was the choice of Josh McDaniels and never panned out, playing just seven games last season. He was eventually replaced by rookie Aidan O’Connell, who presently sits at the top of the depth chart.
The Raiders would benefit greatly from a transfer of this kind since it provides them a young player who can develop and grow alongside someone who is fairly established and has demonstrated his ability to succeed in the NFL.
Fields has his share of problems because he hasn’t yet proven that he can win games with his throwing talent, even though he made significant progress towards the end of the last campaign, helping the Bears win four of their final six games. In each of his three NFL seasons, he has increased his completion % and has maintained his explosiveness with the foot.
It’s uncertain which direction the Raiders choose, and it was recently rumoured that the Bears want to keep Fields, so maybe this is all for nothing. But clearly, the team is doing the proper due diligence and considering every possibility.
GM Tom Telesco and coach Antonio Pierce of the Raiders disagreed on the quarterback position?
What matters more to the Raiders is that the team as a whole must agree on the path to take in order to identify their quarterback; now, it doesn’t seem like that is the case.
According to recent sources, Tom Telesco, the general manager, wants to bring in a major player to man the position, while head coach Antonio Pierce likes Aidan O’Connell to start the following season. Whichever path the squad chooses will work itself out.
