Las Vegas Raiders could be interested in doing what no one saw coming in terms of their roster

The Las Vegas Raiders are no longer in the running for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Instead, they are now making it known they are interested in trading away some pretty key players.

The last 20 years have been hell for Raiders fans.

That was the last time the franchise even won a playoff game, and you can double that time and that's how long it's been since the Raiders have won a Super Bowl.

They have gotten decision after decision wrong, whether it be the front office, coaching, or roster decisions made.

Now, with a potential competent front office and coaching staff, there is hope.

However, we still are not sure how former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek will work together.

We don't know the types of moves they will make, the types of roster they will create, and even the type of players they like when the two of them conjoin and agree.

And, to make things even more unpredictable, they could be making a roster move that will catch everyone off guard.

Raiders interested in trading TE Michael Mayer According to Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the Raiders are exploring the idea of trading away now-third-year tight end Michael Mayer, who hasn't had the best two first seasons.

They drafted Mayer a few years ago but under the Josh McDaniels/Dave Ziegler regime.

And, it wasn't a bad pick.

The #Raiders have made Micheal Mayer available for trade and are having active discussions with interested teams, according to @TheAthletic Mayer missed six games due to personal reasons in 2024 and was delegated to a marginal role due to the ascent of tight end Brock Bowers pic.twitter.com/8zSQREWfy1 In college at Notre Dame, Mayer was elite.

He and Brock Bowers were two of the best tight ends in college football over the last 5-10 years.

Mayer, during his time at Notre Dame, established himself as one of the most productive tight ends in college football.

Over his career with the Fighting Irish, he caught 180 receptions for 2,099 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.

In 2022, he led all FBS tight ends with nine touchdown receptions.

Additionally, in 2021, he set Notre Dame records for tight ends with his single-season marks in receptions and receiving yards, cementing his legacy as an elite talent before moving on to the NFL.

But in the NFL, it just wasn't the same story.

Mayer was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

In his 2023 rookie season, he played 14 games, starting 12, and had 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns, stepping in after Darren Waller was traded.

Yes, those numbers are bad, but to be honest, the offense as a whole was just terrible, so no one really put the blame on Mayer for those numbers being below average for a starting tight end.

In 2024, his role shrank with rookie Brock Bowers taking over Mayer played 11 games, caught 21 passes for 156 yards, and scored no touchdowns, missing six games for personal reasons.

His best game was in December 2024 against Tampa Bay, with seven catches for 68 yards, but hes been less involved overall.

A post shared by The Raider Room (@theraiderroom) That and having Bowers is why the Raiders are trying to trade Mayer, and they want to get as much as possible out of a guy who is still very young and was considered to be the best or second-best tight end in the class behind Buffalo Bills TE Dalton Kincaid.

Now, it's surprising because the Raiders, and a ton of NFL teams, don't usually move on from a second-round pick after two years unless it's off-the-field issues or the player just flat-out can't play, like Alex Leatherwood.

Mayer is still so young with a ton of potential and a guy who can block well, too.

The Raiders could end up getting a pretty decent pick for him.

Now, they won't be getting a second-rounder, what they paid for him because he hasn't really produced or shown he is worth a second-round pick.

But, the Raiders could get anywhere from a 5th-7th round pick for him, which is more than nothing.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission..

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