Once the Las Vegas Raiders and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension prior to the start of the regular season, it felt like only a matter of time before he was traded away.
With Meyers entering the final year of his contract, it made sense to deal him and get some draft capital in return if they felt like he wouldn’t be returning next season. Getting a fourth and sixth-round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars was a good haul as well, but even with that, the coaching staff reportedly still didn’t want to do the deal.
On the latest episode of the NFL Spotlight podcast with Ari Meirov, the host spoke about there being a dichotomy between the Raiders’ coaching staff and front office overall, and particularly with the Meyers trade:
“Just to give some background here on the Jakobi Meyers trade, there was a lot of back and forth from the front office and the coaching staff about doing that. I mean, it was just such an obvious trade candidate, move on from him, final year of the contract, doesn’t want to be there. [The] coaching staff wanted to keep him and finally they were able to get a four and a six from Jacksonville when they did the deal but even doing a deal like that, there’s just a dichotomy of ‘We got to win right now’ versus ‘We got to prepare for the future’ and it’s just not a good balance right now.”
As Meirov would go on to note, this is often the case with many teams, as the coaching staff is always looking to win every game and never goes on the field to lose, while the front office can often be focused on the future. However, with the Raiders, the fact that head coach Pete Carroll is 74 years old means he isn’t looking for a rebuild, but that is where the Raiders are at.
At 2-8 and dead last in the AFC West, the Raiders’ playoff hopes are gone, and so focusing on veteran players as opposed to giving opportunities to younger guys just doesn’t make sense. However, the front office and coaches must get on the same page if the Raiders are ever going to rise above this and regain their status as one of the NFL’s premier franchises.
Could Raiders target QB Kyler Murray next offseason?
That dichotomy between the coaches and front office could play out in how the Raiders address the quarterback position this offseason. If the coaches continue to push the ‘win now’ mantra, the team could look to bring in a veteran signal-caller, and Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will be available.
