Oakland Raiders: 3 Realistic Moves Raiders Could Make at Trade Deadline

The Oakland Raiders have disappointed so far in Reggie McKenzie's first year as General Manager.
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE

As the 2012 NFL trade deadline rapidly approaches, the Oakland Raiders have some serious decisions to make.

The team currently sits at 1-4 and has greatly underperformed in a season that brought excitement with a new identity.

Oakland has major flaws on both sides of the ball, and could benefit from some great players in the final years of their deals. Although trades in the NFL aren't nearly as popular as they are in the MLB or the NBA, they can still give that one team the extra push it needs to make a second-half run.

Let's take a look at three moves the Raiders could make before the Week 8 trade deadline.

Trade for a Cornerback

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Before the bye week, Oakland had been downright pathetic against the pass. The team is giving up nearly 275 yards per game, good enough for 25th in the league.

The Raiders have struggled through injuries to their secondary this year and have had players change positions for the sake of improving the pass defense.

Despite a drastic improvement against Atlanta in Week 6 where they picked off Matt Ryan three times, the Raiders continue to lack a dominant leader on the defensive side of the ball.

Seattle's Marcus Trufant and Jacksonville's Rashean Mathis are both in the final year of their respective deals, and would make great additions to a Raiders defense that is desperate for an answer.

Oakland could land Trufant or Mathis for a third-round draft pick. As bad as they have looked defending the pass this season, it's a trade that the Raiders really can't go wrong with.

Trade Richard Seymour

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Richard Seymour has had a spectacular NFL career. He's a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time Super Bowl champion and was once regarded as one of the best defensive tackles in the league.

This year, however, Seymour has been a major disappointment in Oakland. Whether it's his age or the ability of offensive linemen to keep him stymied, Seymour has been virtually non-existent and is off to one of the worst starts of his NFL career.

The former New England Patriot has failed to live up to the contract the Raiders are paying him, and cutting ties with Seymour wouldn't be a total bummer.

He still has the talent to be a great defensive tackle, but hasn't shown it at all this year. Oakland could get a third, if not a second-round draft pick for the struggling Seymour.

As ineffective as he's been this year, would you even notice if he was gone?

Trade for Dwayne Bowe

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Dwayne Bowe has the talent and explosiveness to be one of the best receivers in the league.

He's had back-to-back 1,100 yard seasons with Matt Cassel as his quarterback. I'm not saying that Carson Palmer is Tom Brady, but he's way more talented than Cassel. Imagine what Bowe could do in Oakland.

According to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports (via profootballtalk.com), Bowe wants out of Kansas City "very badly." Though the Raiders have two young receivers in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore making strides in the NFL, adding Bowe to the mix would give them one of the best wide receiving corps in the league.

With Darren McFadden struggling in Greg Knapp's zone-blocking scheme, the pressure will be on Palmer to come up clutch for the rest of the season. Bowe is a home run hitting receiver that would help make Palmer's job a whole lot easier.

Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli may be hesitant to trade Bowe within the division, but it's not like the Chiefs will be relevant anytime soon.