The Las Vegas Raiders made some major splashes this offseason. The biggest move was the acquisition of star wide receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers. A long-time friend of quarterback Derek Carr, Adams combines with Hunter Renfrow and tight end Darren Waller to form one of the best pass-catching trios in the NFL.
Waller has proven himself to be one of the league’s elite tight ends over the past couple of seasons and is truly a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Needless to say, it would make sense for teams to hope to trade for him if the Raiders were willing to move him, but that does not appear to be the case.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, there is zero chance of the Raiders dealing away Waller this offseason:
Got a firm ‘zero chance’ Darren Waller is traded from a source. Teams certainly would like to acquire a top tight end on a good contract but Raiders have no plans to acquiesce.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 26, 2022
Considering the moves the Raiders have made this offseason, quickly putting together a potentially elite offense, getting rid of Waller now would make little sense. In addition to his immense talent, Waller is also on an extremely team-friendly contract for two more seasons.
The main concern for Waller has been his health, as he struggled to stay on the field last season. Waller missed five games last season and looked less than 100% in other contests, resulting in a massive dropoff from his numbers in each of the previous two years.
The Raiders making any sort of move before seeing this talent together on the field would seem ill-advised at best. Waller, Renfrow, and Adams together has the chance to be special along with Josh Jacobs out of the backfield. In what could be the NFL’s toughest division, the Raiders need as much firepower as they can handle.
Perhaps later on, if the fit doesn’t quite work, Waller continues to struggle with injuries, and the Raiders are concerned with paying him elite tight end money they could choose to make this move. But the Raiders have to at least see this collection on the field before making any decision.
