We are a less than two weeks away from the NFL trade deadline. Some big moves have already been made, including the Colts fire sale sending Quentin Nelson to the Seahawks and DeForest Buckner (back) to the 49ers. But there is surely more to come. The Raiders have a few players they could move as well. Here are the top candidates Las Vegas could be fielding calls about over the next week.
DE Maxx Crosby
The Raiders already traded Crosby this year. At his request. But the deal fell through, with the Ravens saying he failed a physical. Since then, there have been little signs of this supposedly serious injury Crosby had that would have him sent back to Las Vegas and his deal with the Raiders nixed. And Crosby recommitted to the Raiders. But the feeling has always
been that with that door opened, it wasn't so simple to just close it and pretend all was good now.
The rest of the league now knows that Crosby can be had for a price and that he was -- at least a few months ago -- eager to be had. Add that the Raiders are in the early stages of a rebuild and you have the formula for a deal that would place the eight-year veteran on a playoff team and the Raiders getting some draft compensation with which to build for the future.
QB Kirk Cousins
Since the moment Cousins was signed by the Raiders, I have said he could be traded by midseason. The idea just made too much sense. Think about it; he was the top free agent QB on the market and enthusiastically joins a team he knows is in the early stages of a rebuild and about to draft Fernando Mendoza with the top pick. That doesn't look like the ideal situation for a guy who thinks he's still a capable starter in this league.
Cousins is in the business hall of fame for a reason. He knows a good situation when he sees one. That situation being that he plays under Klint Kubiak, with whom Cousins is quite familiar, showing the rest of the NFL that he's still a talented QB, then come midseason, should a playoff caliber team lose their starter and need a bridge QB to keep them afloat, they offer the Raiders some solid compensation for Cousins. He gets implanted onto a playoff team, the Raiders get some draft compensation, and they start Mendoza. Everyone wins.
Obviously this scenario only works if there is a team that suddenly becomes desperate for a bridge QB, so this trade is completely contingent upon that. Otherwise Cousins is more valuable to either remain as the starter in Las Vegas or as the next man up behind Mendoza as a mentor.
G/C Jackson Powers-Johnson
It wasn't so long ago that JPJ was the Raiders' starting center as the reigning Rimington Award Winner. It just seems like forever because of how many times he's been moved in and out of the lineup. He came into the season as the starting right guard. And when a shakeup was needed, it was JPJ who was benched in favor of Caleb Rogers.
Teams love their college evals, and JPJ was highly regarded coming out of Oregon. He also has position versatility as a center/guard, upping his value and the chances of there being an interested team. And many coaching staffs think they can get the best out of a player where other teams failed. The Raiders have Rogers and rookie Trey Zuhn who could battle for the right guard spot should a team be interested in JPJ.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders trade candidates as NFL deadline approaches
