One Move Raiders Can't Afford to Get Wrong at Trade Deadline

The trade deadline has arrived, and the Las Vegas Raiders have plenty of needs. As the second half of the season approaches, it is clear what the Raiders need and which position groups need the most help. It remains unclear whether the Raiders will make a move ahead of the deadline to fix those issues.

The Raiders have come back to Earth after a 3-0 start to the season. After suffering yet another loss this past Sunday, Las Vegas' front office must decide how to fix its roster as the deadline will soon pass. Las Vegas' first nine games have answered some questions and raised many more.

A productive offseason of roster-building has had a profound impact on the field for the Raiders this season. However, improvements at certain position groups have made the need for improvement elsewhere on the roster that much more apparent.

Las Vegas doesn't just have needs. The Raiders have significant needs.

What the Raiders Need

The Raiders still need a significant talent infusion on their roster. Las Vegas has several position groups on both sides of the ball that could use additional talent. They have several players in starting positions who may not be starting-caliber players on most teams around the league.

If the Raiders were to add a player before the deadline, it would likely be at wide receiver, cornerback, or on their offensive and defensive lines. They are talented enough as is to beat the league's worst teams, which is progress from last season. Still, their needs run deep.

Las Vegas' front office should do its due diligence to see whether it can pull off reasonable trades before the deadline. However, they have no reason to force the issue after the work they've already put in.

What the Raiders Cannot Afford To Get Wrong

After all the moves the Raiders' front office made this offseason to fill out its coaching staff and roster, there are not many moves they can make at the trade deadline. Both trading away players of their own and trading for other players pose risks to the progress the Raiders have made so far.

Aside from Las Vegas receiving an offer they cannot refuse for Maxx Crosby, Kirk Cousins, or Jackson Powers-Johnson, the Raiders should refrain from trading any of their players. They should also refrain from trading away future assets.

Forcing any kind of move would be the biggest move they could make, and it would be wrong. At 4-5, the Raiders are ahead of schedule and would be better served by keeping their draft picks and cap space.

For this season, the wide array of moves the Raiders' front office made this offseason will have to be enough, and rightfully so. Las Vegas' front office hired Klint Kubiak for many reasons. One of those reasons was their belief in Kubiak's ability to develop players.

The progress the Raiders hope to attain over the remainder of the season will not come from more roster additions before the deadline. It will come from Las Vegas' coaching staff working with the roster they were given, which is significantly more than their most recent two coaches had.

The Raiders have lost four of their past five games, making it easy to point to the trade deadline as a time to add talent. However, after the team's Week 9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Kubiak pointed to execution as a bigger issue than talent.

“Obviously being able to have the mental toughness on long drives to finish drives out, even if it’s with field goals, defensively start there. Offensively, we had opportunities in that first drive. We had two of those three opportunities that we missed,” Kubiak said.

“Especially on the -- we get to third and short on the very first third down of the game, we don’t convert. We got a chance to move the chains right there. So, when you’re opening up a game, there’s so many ways that a drive can go. But when you get to third-and-three in the first drive, you expect to convert and maintain possession right there. Now, the second drive was much better, but overall, you look at just the play count."

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