Raiders Pressed to Make Bold Trade for QB Solution

The Las Vegas Raiders are being projected to swing a bold trade in order to solve their quarterback problem this NFL offseason.

Jan 14, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders laughs as he watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Everyone knows that the Las Vegas Raiders desperately need a quarterback and almost certainly will not be heading into 2025 with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell as the lone two options on the depth chart.

Chances are, the Raiders will do something, whether that means signing a free agent, trading for a signal-caller or turning to the NFL Draft.

The problem with the latter route is that Las Vegas owns the sixth overall pick in the draft, so it will be awfully difficult for the club to land either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward unless one of them plummets on draft night. It's possible, but not likely.

Realistically speaking, the best way for the Raiders to somehow bag a quarterback in the first round will be to trade up, and that is exactly what ESPN's Aaron Schatz is expecting them to do.

In a piece where Schatz outlined one bold projection for every NFL team this offseason, he had Las Vegas making a move to position itself to draft Sanders.

"ESPN's Field Yates has Sanders falling to the Raiders with the No. 6 pick, but waiting for him to fall to them would not be the bold move," Schatz wrote. "The move would be to trade up into the top three picks, preferably the top two, to ensure that Sanders comes to Las Vegas."

Several mock drafts do suddenly have Sanders falling into the Raiders' laps at No. 6, but it just seems hard to believe that he would get past all three of the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.

Plus, you have other quarterback-needy teams—like the New York Jets, for example—that could jump in front of Las Vegas to steal the Colorado Buffaloes star.

"Obviously, the problem is that it would cost additional draft capital, especially since the Raiders have other glaring needs and the top three teams (Titans, Browns and Giants) also need a young quarterback and would need to be enticed to trade down," Schatz wrote.

Yes, it would be an expensive move by the Raiders, but for a team that has not drafted a quarterback in the first round since 2007 and has made just two playoff appearances since 2003, it would be worth it.

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