3 Reasons the Raiders Should Be Sellers at the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline

The Las Vegas Raiders were able to stave off irrelevance with a 17-13 win over the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football in Week 5.

That doesn't mean the Raiders should be buyers at the October 31 NFL trade deadline, though. Through five weeks, the Raiders sit at 2-3. They started the season ranked 23rd in our Power Rankings.

This week's win moved them to No. 26 on the year, so it's fair to say that their reality has mostly been in line with the expectations.

This is still a rebuilding year for the Raiders and, if the team is going to be active at the deadline, it should be to shop a player or two who can bring back some draft capital.

Here are three reasons why.

Salary Cap Situation

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General Manager Dave Ziegler

There's a common sense among some fans and analysts that the salary cap doesn't matter or that it's not real. It's only half true and it's a dangerous way to operate.

In any given year, it can feel like it rings true. Teams can push money into future years all they want, but the bill always comes due and there's often pain later on. Just look at how much the Rams have had to tear down their roster just to retain their core of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald.

The Raiders are not in a great cap situation. When Brad Spielberger of PFF broke down the three-year outlook for all 32 franchises and the Raiders came in 31st in those rankings. Looking at the cap space in a three-year window gives a better framework for where the team is financially as its easy to clear space for a season.

So while the Raiders have $11.5 million in cap space right now, it would be best to allow much of that to roll over to next season if possible.

If Dave Ziegler wants to retain his job as general manager his best selling point has to be that the future is bright. He hasn't built a team that can contend right now.

Clearing even more cap space with a trade while acquiring some draft capital is the best way to do that right now.

Valuable Trade Assets

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Davante Adams

Sometimes it's not worth it for a rebuilding team to be sellers because they have no assets to sell in the first place. That's not the case for the Raiders, they have real pieces who could help a contending team and bring back at least Day 2 picks.

Both Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams made our trade block big board going into Week 5. Josh Jacobs has made appearances on it as well.

Renfrow has fallen out of favor in Josh McDaniels' offense. He's only averaging 1.8 targets per game, but could likely find a much larger role with another team. He is just two years removed from a 1,000-yard season before McDaniels came to town.

With a base salary of $11.2 million in 2024, the Raiders could get out of a lot of their financial obligation to him next season while getting a decent return by trading him now before his age-29 season.

Adams would be the big fish. It would be a full admission of a full-scale rebuild, but he's also proven that he's still an elite receiver which means the Raiders could expect a meaningful return.

Jacobs and the team might have patched things up to get through this season, but his contract still looms large in the spring. Given his lack of production, it would make sense for both the club and the back to have a new start.

With three logical trade candidates, it's hard to make a case for this team to be buying.

Increased 2024 Draft Capital

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North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye

The Raiders aren't a team that is one or two pieces away from contending. The secondary and offensive lines need long-term answers at multiple spots. This is a team with some star power, but needs for upgrades at key spots.

Combine that with a quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo who doesn't carry a high ceiling and it's hard to see this iteration of the Raiders becoming a contender.

The best hope is to continue to build through the draft. Right now, the Raiders are 13th in overall 2024 draft capital by Tankathon's rankings. They have just one pick in each round for the first five rounds.

There's a real chance that the Raiders are going to be looking for their next franchise quarterback in the 2024 draft. Given the current talent level on the Raiders, they might do a little too much winning to naturally be in position to draft a Drake Maye or Shedeur Sanders.

That might require trading up which means they need multiple draft picks at their disposal That means potentially parting with some good players who won't be around when this team is ready to win anyway.