Following their embarrassing loss, the Las Vegas Raiders have had no shortage of media storylines going into their week 7 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. From Davante Adams finally leaving the Silver and Black to Tom Brady officially becoming a part of the Raider family here are the top stories of the week.
Raiders Storylines Following Their Week 6 Loss
Davante Adams Traded To The Jets
After months of speculation, rumors, and frustration, Adams was traded to the New York Jets. From the outside looking in this is a long time coming, even though Adams was among players vouching for the current Raider regime. Adams will be reuniting with his former teammate Aaron Rodgers for the remainder of the season. Along with not having to pay his remaining salary, the Raiders will get a second-round instead of a third-round pick if Adams is an All-Pro, playing in the conference championship game, or the Super Bowl.
No matter how disappointing this ending is for Adams’ tenure in Vegas, the Raiders, Adams, and the Jets come out happier from this trade. The Raiders roster doesn’t get better on paper without Adams, but the removal of a star who had one foot out the door all year boosts morale in a way that translates to the field. No one can blame Adams for leaving either. From the way Derek Carr was treated on his way out of Vegas to the Josh McDaniels failure, Adams’ time with the Raiders was not what he was promised coming in. The Raiders are better off now and defied the expectations by getting Adams’ contract off the books and a potential second-round pick. They may have upward of 100 million dollars in cap space next offseason and the draft pick because of that.
For all we know, Adams may have been wanting out since realizing his former quarterback couldn’t get him to the playoffs in the middle of the 2022-2023 season.
Raiders Part-Owner Tom Brady
This week Tom Brady’s bid to own a percentage of the Raiders was officially approved. Of the ten percent sold to Brady and his business partner, Tom Wagner, Brady personally owns a five percent stake in the Raiders. Despite optics or rivalry fans may feel for Brady, Raider Nation has brought in someone you could only describe as a winner. He wouldn’t have his name on the franchise if he didn’t think they could be winners once again. Brady will have a mostly passive role with the Raiders given his obligations as a lead-fox analyst. But that didn’t stop Mark Davis from commenting on Brady’s potential influence in quarterback development for the team. Davis said Brady would be able to help select and potentially train a quarterback for the Raiders. An exciting prospect indeed, but given the Raiders’ history it likely won’t be that simple.
Still, the arrival of the winningest quarterback in NFL history to a team deprived of consistent winning for over 20 years is a potentially transformative event for the Raiders’ future.
Maxx Crosby Getting Traded?
If you search the name Maxx Crosby on Google this week you will see numerous articles regarding where he will be traded following Davante Adams’ departure to New York. It’s par for the course for star Raider players to be asked about being traded to winning teams when the organization is in a constant struggle to win. However, with talks around Crosby, they have never been more unreasonable. Crosby’s value doesn’t solely lie with his play on the field which in and of itself is extremely valuable. What makes Crosby invaluable to the Raiders is his personification of a Raiders defensive leader. You might be able to argue that what brought Christian Wilkins to Las Vegas was Crosby’s success. You could also argue that mentorship from Crosby has helped Tyree Wilson improve this season.
Crosby brings so much value to the Raiders that you can’t necessarily put a price tag on it. His presence draws teammates in and brings the best out of them. Crosby is just now entering his prime at 27 and it is too early to trade him away when committed to winning now. To play devil’s advocate, the Raiders did trade Khalil Mack in his prime. Although, it was quite a different situation and a full-blown rebuild. Owner Mark Davis did assure that there wouldn’t be any entertaining a potential Crosby trade when asked about it.
Luke Getsy On The Hot Seat
The Raiders offense has shown flashes of how good the system could be under Luke Getsy multiple times this season. Nevertheless, the Raider offense is inconsistent at best. Whenever the players are doing their job and are operating correctly the playcalling tends to move away from what works. Their recent loss against the Steelers is the perfect example. They had a great first drive of ten plays for 70 yards and a touchdown which would be their only good drive until garbage time. In the first drive, Alexander Mattison carried the run game and opened up the passing game. After this point, the Raider offense found little to no success running different plays while slowly phasing Mattison out of the game. This resulted in two fumbles by backup running backs in the second and third quarters. The rest of the season before week 6 is a similar story where the Raiders’ offense can’t put two-quarters of good football together in the same game.
Getsy might not see the chopping block anytime soon, but there are legitimate concerns deeper than quarterback mediocrity for the Raiders’ offense and it’s not a lack of talent. Brock Bowers is only the latest addition to a list of playmakers like Jakobi Meyers and now Mattison. Bowers is officially the highest-rated tight-end in the NFL overall according to PFF.
Through week seven, the Raiders have had a plethora of stories come out that have nothing to do with their game against the Rams. The Raiders locker room still seems focused on the game ahead rather than outside distractions. If anything, now that Adams is gone the locker room can finally move on unbothered by an unsatisfied star player. There’s a world of difference between 3-4 and 2-5 so let’s see how the Raiders respond this weekend.
Main Image: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
