With no offseason programs or games taking place, the dog days of the NFL season are dragging on. Media outlets can only produce content about hypotheticals due to a lack of action, and Bleacher Report joined in on the fun this week.
With the $34.1 million we have remaining in cap space, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report thinks that the team may not be done making roster changes, so he chose three players on the Raiders current roster that he believes could be traded and why.
Malcolm Koonce
The first name on the list of trade candidates was defensive end Malcolm Koonce. Knox doesn’t believe the Raiders would want to trade Koonce, but they could take advantage of his value coming off a breakout season.
“Realistically, the Raiders would much rather extend defensive end Malcolm Koonce than trade him,” Knox wrote. “The 26-year-old emerged as a strong complement to star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby this past season and deserves to have a future with the franchise.
“Koonce finished the 2023 season with nine tackles for loss, eight sacks and quarterback pressures. If Las Vegas is looking to make a splash trade, however, Koonce might just be its top realistic bargaining chip.”
While it is true that Koonce is entering a contract year and could be a free agent after the season, I would be willing to bet that the Raiders make him a priority extension with the aforementioned $34.1 million in cap space. What happened with the Josh Jacobs saga was not ideal, as they lost one of the best backs in the league and received no compensation for it. Obviously, if Malcolm Koonce were to walk in free agency next season, some fans would be frustrated that we were not able to get a pick or a player in return for him. However, I think most Raiders fans would be even more frustrated not having him on the roster this season.
Koonce, as they mentioned, recorded 8.0 sacks in 2023, but what is even more impressive is that he accomplished all of that in the final nine games of the season when Antonio Pierce took over as head coach. This means that he will likely not be traded for two reasons: One, I am sure that the team is eager to see what the former third-round pick can do in a full season as a starter.
Second, his sudden surge in playing time means that AP believes in him, and that might matter most of all. Tom Telesco and AP seem to have a great relationship thus far and I doubt that Telesco would perform a trade like this and sabotage it. Unless teams are knocking on the door and offering unbelievable trade packages, I doubt Koonce is moved. He is just scratching the surface of his potential and he should be extended to play alongside Maxx, Christian Wilkins and Tyree Wilson for years to come.
Adam Butler
The second name to appear on the list was defensive tackle Adam Butler. He had a strong season with the Raiders in 2023, and they decided to bring him back. However, the team could want to give second-year defensive tackle Byron Young a chance, and Butler could have some value on the trade market, according to Knox.
“If another team finds itself desperate for help on the defensive interior, however, Butler could conceivably bring a strong return,” Knox wrote. “The 30-year-old has never been a full-time starter, but defensive tackles who can get after the quarterback will always be coveted in the NFL.
“Butler has shown that he can generate interior pressure. In six seasons with the Raiders, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, he has averaged just over 3.5 sacks per campaign.”
This trade is a bit more palatable for Raider Nation simply because of the addition of Christian Wilkins. While Butler was very productive last season, he is not a young guy anymore, and his absence could allow for the emergence of a handful of defensive tackles that the team has added through the draft in previous years. The starters, if he were traded, would be Wilkins and John Jenkins, which means that either Byron Young, Nesta Jade Silvera, or Matthew Butler would have to step up and play a significant role. Wilson could also be thrown into that mix if Koonce and Crosby are playing the snaps they are expected to at defensive end.
That being said, Butler is a critical part of the defense, and he should remain a Raider. Once again, he is not a young guy, so the trade package we would receive given his age would likely not be as valuable to the team as his potential production would be. Just a season ago, he contributed 5.0 sacks, including one in each of the last three weeks of the season. His contract does not break the bank and his presence does not necessarily hinder a young player from developing, as he played over 50% of the team’s defensive snaps in only five games last year. He is not a star, so if there is a trade package out there for him that makes sense, it would not break my heart to see him go, but my instincts tell me the best move for the team is to keep him on board.
Michael Mayer
The last and most controversial entry on the list is tight end Michael Mayer. Knox floated the idea that he might not work with Brock Bowers and the Raiders could trade him while he still has value.
“There’s no guarantee that Getsy will use that approach, though,” Knox wrote. “He had one star tight end in Cole Kmet with the Chicago Bears last season, and Kmet led the position group with 90 targets and 73 receptions. Robert Tonyan was second with just 17 targets and 11 catches.
“Getsy could use a similar split in Las Vegas, especially with receivers Davante Adams, Jakobi Meters and Tre Tucker likely to limit the use of two-tight-end sets. If that’s the case, recouping some of the Raiders’ investment in Mayer could make sense. … Las Vegas has another capable receiving tight end in Harrison Bryant, and Mayer’s draft pedigree could generate quite a bit of interest on the trade market.”
Trading Mayer would be a terrible idea, plain and simple. I understand that the Raiders are going to invest a lot in Bowers, but Luke Getsy utilized 12 personnel (two tight end sets) at the eight-highest rate in the league last season according to sumersports.com. Sure, in last year’s offense, only Cole Kmet got targets for the Bears under Getsy, but that is only because the other tight end was Robert Tonyan, whose best days are behind him. With two young and capable tight ends on the roster, it stands to reason that Getsy will take advantage of this personnel and both Mayer and Bowers will be needed for the Raiders to succeed. Harrison Bryant is considered a “receiving tight end” by Bleacher Report yet he finished last season with only 13 catches.
Bowers is also more than a tight end, and he projects to line up in a variety of spots, including both in the slot and out wide. This means that Mayer would be the tight end on plays where Adams and Jakobi are out wide and Bowers is in the slot. Simply put, the Raiders need Mayer on the team, especially because the backups behind him are incredibly undesirable. He may garner some interest from teams if they were to put him on the market, but once again, he is most valuable to the Raiders as a tight end, not a trade piece.
