The Las Vegas Raiders are dead in the water. For 2024 at least. They’re 2-6, don’t really have a quarterback, and they’ve already traded away their best offensive player when they sent Davante Adams to the New York Jets.
That means the Raiders are likely sellers at the NFL trade deadline, and likely on the hunt to stockpile draft picks to build around drafting a potential franchise quarterback in 2025.
That means a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are still very much in the playoff race, could find a player they need off the Las Vegas roster.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks that should equate to a trade for veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who is in the second year of a 3-year, $33 million contract and has 3 consecutive seasons of at least 800 receiving yards.
The Buccaneers, on the other hand, are without star wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) until at least after the bye in Week 11 and without their other star wide receiver, Chris Godwin, for the rest of the season after he dislocated his ankle in a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“With Chris Godwin out for the year and Mike Evans sidelined for a while, the Buccaneers can use some wide receiver help,” Holder wrote. “Meanwhile, the Raiders are sitting at 2-6 and might be willing to part with Meyers, who has 31 catches for 325 yards a touchdown this season, for a draft pick.”
Comparatively, if Adams was worth a conditional third round pick, the Buccaneers might be able to pull off the same thing with a conditional sixth round pick that turns into a fifth round pick if Meyers were to start a certain amount of games or start a playoff game.
Meyers Went From Undrafted to NFL Veteran
Meyers went undrafted out of North Carolina State in 2019 despite breaking College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Tory Holt’s school record with 92 receptions for 1,047 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns as a senior in 2018.
He made the Patriots as an undrafted free agent and stuck with the team for 4 seasons, where he had 3,890 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns, including 3 touchdown passes.
Meyers was equally effective in his first season with the Raiders in 2023, with 71 receptions for 807 receiving yards and a career-high 11 total touchdowns, including 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 passing touchdown.
Bucs Likely Playing for NFC Wild Card Spot
While it’s way too early to say anything with total certainty, you can make a good argument that if the Buccaneers are to make the playoffs it won’t be via a fourth consecutive NFC South Division title — they’ve already been swept by the Falcons — but through an NFC Wild Card berth.
The Buccaneers, who dropped to 4-4 with a Week 8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, have the most brutal 2-game stretch of their season coming up. Tampa Bay travels to play the undefeated, 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football game in Week 9 followed by a home game against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.
After the bye in Week 11, things get a little more manageable with consecutive games against the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers and Raiders.
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