While the Las Vegas Raiders have a Week 6 matchup against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, at 1-4, most of Raider Nation’s focus is on the upcoming trade deadline, the 2026 NFL draft and free agency. So, trade proposals and the offseason will be the primary focus for this week’s mailbag.
Q: Many Raider fans don’t like the sound of this, but don’t you think the Raiders need to trade Maxx Crosby? What do you think they could get in return? I’m very curious as to how many picks and what rounds they would be in. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked for a trade already.
A: I’m a little torn on this because I think Crosby is the type of guy an organization should build around with what he brings on the field and from a leadership standpoint. But, he is 28 (turns 29 in August) and has said he isn’t interested in being part of another rebuild, which is completely understandable.
Also, I’d imagine the trade package would be a little less but similar to what the Cowboys received for Micah Parsons, meaning something in the range of two first-round picks. Maybe closer to a first- and a second-rounder, like what the Raiders gave up for Davante Adams a few years ago. Either scenario would be hard to turn down for an organization that feels like it’s headed toward hitting the reset button and needs to figure out its quarterback situation.
Ultimately, my stance is this: I wouldn’t trade Crosby unless he requests it. If he does, I wouldn’t put up a fight and would start working the phones. Crosby has put up with a lot and stayed loyal to the Raiders, but at this point in his career, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s reached his limit and wants to play for a contender while he’s still on the right side of 30.
In other words, John Spytek, Pete Carroll, Mark Davis, Tom Brady and whoever is involved in the roster decision-making should at least consider trading away their best player to help build the team for the future.
Q: The playoffs are very unlikely at this point. Who might get traded away besides Jakobi Meyers? Who should they offer contract extensions to now?
Meyers is definitely one of the top trade candidates, especially since he’s asked for one and the organization doesn’t seem all that interested in giving him a contract extension. So, might as well get something for him if he’s not going to be back, even if it is just a fourth- or fifth-round pick.
Next up might be Malcolm Koonce since he’s in a similar situation as an impending free agent, but I don’t know how much value Koonce has in a trade at this point. Outside of that, maybe Adam Butler gets flipped for a late-round pick, or Spytek starts getting rid of players who were brought in by the previous regime.
The problem is that the Raiders don’t have a lot of players who I think a contending team would be interested in, outside of the four named above. Kolton Miller would have been a candidate, but Miller just signed a contract extension and is currently injured. Plus, offensive linemen typically don’t get dealt at the deadline, so an offseason trade seems more likely if he’s even on the table.
As far as extensions go, I think Las Vegas would be better off just letting the season ride out and waiting until the offseason.
A: Someone else asked a question similar to No. 2, so I’ll touch on that later and stick to No. 1 here.
I’ll go with yellow flags for the new regime. I think there are definitely some ego issues at play between the weird relationships with players that you mention and with how they approached the offseason. Defensively, it feels like Carroll was overconfident in his ability to coach guys up and didn’t need to add much talent to that side of the ball. Offensively, Carroll seems attached to Smith, and quarterback play is the biggest factor that’s holding the unit back.
Also, it seems like Spytek and Carroll tried to come up with a plan where they could win now while rebuilding the rest of the roster, but that’s quickly blowing up in their faces. Letting so many free agents walk and then playing the long game in the draft by taking several projects, while trading for a quarterback who is in his mid-30s, was a terrible idea in hindsight with how bad Geno has played.
Your note about Mark Davis being stuck and not able to move on from Carroll is something I’m concerned about, too. I’ll add to it that part of the Raiders’ problem over the last couple of decades is that they’re constantly churning through head coaches and coaching staffs. It’s hard for players to develop when they have to learn new systems and techniques year after year, but at the same time, you can’t continue to let incompetence permeate throughout the building and have to move on if you no longer believe in the head coach/staff.
It’s a delicate balance, and I’m not sure what the right answer is. Personally, I’m not ready to give up on Carroll, partially because I’m tired of the constant turnover. But I understand people’s skepticism of having a 74-year-old head coach when the team clearly needs to rebuild.
A: This is another part of what I mean by saying Carroll’s ego is getting in the way. More than any other quarterback he’s worked with, Smith makes Carroll look good as a head coach because Carroll “fixed” Smith. Geno was considered a major bust and destined to be a career-long backup until Pete made him into a competent starter and a Pro Bowler.
I think that’s a big part of why Carroll won’t make a quarterback change; he’s attached to and wants to continue to work with the guy who made him look good in the past, attempting to fix Smith again. I get that sense when Carroll talks about Smith during his press conferences, and to me, it feels like he’s trying to protect Smith with his answers.
Long story short, Carroll is too attached to Smith in my opinion, so I don’t have a good gauge on when a benching would happen.
But when it comes to Tom McMahon, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets fired by the end of the season. McMahon was brought on by Josh McDaniels, so he’s not one of Pete’s guys, and this is their first year working together. Considering how bad Las Vegas’ special teams have been recently, McMahon’s seat should be getting warm.
A: It’s Kenny Pickett, maybe Aidan O’Connell as a third option. It wouldn’t make sense for a team that’s already headed nowhere to give up a draft pick for a quarterback to get through the season, and the free agent options aren’t better than Pickett. Honestly, I don’t hate the idea of seeing what the 27-year-old can do. I wouldn’t expect him to play well enough to earn a contract extension or become the long-term answer, but it’s worth a shot at this point.
A: I think you touched on it pretty well. I’d say predetermining throws, staring down reads (those two kind of go hand-in-hand) and throwing with anticipation. That’s what has been getting him in trouble and leading to a lot of the interceptions he’s thrown.
The problem is that these aren’t new issues for Smith; he just made enough high-end plays in the past to overcome his shortcomings. But the Raiders aren’t getting enough of the latter.
For example, Pro Football Focus credited Geno with 28 “big-time throws” at a 4.5 percent rate and 18 “turnover-worthy plays” at a 2.6 percent rate last year, but those metrics are at five BTTs (2.9 percent) and 10 TWPs (5.1 percent). When he threw a career-high 21 picks during his rookie season, he had 23 BTTs (5.0 percent) and 32 TWPs (5.9 percent).
In year 13 as an NFL quarterback, I don’t think we can reasonably expect him to correct the flaws, either.
Q: I don’t see any creativity in Chip Kelly’s offense, and obviously, the Raiders don’t have a QB once again. Overall, the offense looks too slow to develop. Don’t you think they should go no-huddle more often?
A: This is something I’ve been disappointed with from Kelly, too, but more so in the running game. It’s been pretty vanilla, and he’s known for being innovative. Although I do think we saw some flashes of that in the first half against the Colts, as the read option that picked up the first down sticks out in my mind. Then, the game just got out of hand too quickly.
In the passing game, Kelly certainly has to tweak something because it’s not working. However, what I will say is that there are plays where receivers are open and just don’t get the ball. Our Marcus Johnson broke down a few examples of that on the Tape Don’t Lie episode, which is hyperlinked if you’d like to take a look.
There’s a play that sticks out to me where Kelly called a rub route to Albert Okwuegbunam that was wide open for a third-down conversion. However, Geno decided to take a one-on-one matchup with Jack Bech on the other side of the field and completely sailed the throw. The play-caller did his job on that one, and there are other similar examples throughout the season.
When it comes to no-huddle, the downside of the offense operating quickly is that the defense is on the field more often, especially when the offense isn’t clicking. The Raiders’ defense began the season playing well, but I think we’ve started to see the lack of talent on that side of the ball peak through in recent weeks.
That’s part of what got Kelly run out of the NFL during his first stint in the league. Offenses can’t be complex when the goal is to run as many plays as quickly as possible. So, when opponents know what’s coming, the offense gets stopped and the defense is left out to dry because they’re on the field so much.
Q: Anything from Germaine Pratt or “his people” about what led to his release? Why not a trade for a late pick?
A: I don’t know what happened with the Pratt situation, but it’s pretty clear he butted heads with the coaching staff (Carroll, most likely) and/or teammates. As far as a trade goes, no team was going to give up anything for an average starting linebacker who has fallen out of favor with two clubs in the last four months. Especially when the first question Spytek would have to answer from a potential trade partner is, “Why are you trying to get rid of a guy who was a starter before not even traveling with the team last week?”.
Q: If there is one, who gets your Raiders team MVP vote so far this season?
A: The “if there is one” is an important piece of this question with how the Raiders have played this season, LOL! It’d definitely be Crosby, though. The guy is getting double- and triple-teamed constantly and is still making plays out there. He’s certainly not part of the problem and has been one of the few positives from this season.
Q: On the commercial where Tom Brady says, “When the safety rotates down, just rip the seam,” can you give an example of what he’s talking about?
A: The “safety rotating down” means the defense is showing a two-high or two-safety coverage pre-snap, but one of them moves toward the line of scrimmage while the other safety moves backward to protect the deep middle portion of the field (aka a “post safety”). As a result, it’s hard for the safety who is moving toward the line of scrimmage to change directions again and cover a tight end or slot receiver on a vertical route.
So, if the quarterback “rips the seam” or throws it quickly to the tight end, it’s going to be very difficult for the safety to cover or make a play on the ball since his momentum is going in the opposite direction. For clarity, a seam route is basically just a go route straight down the field that’s run by an inside receiver and bent slightly toward the middle of the field, but doesn’t have a hard break like a post.
The commercial oversimplifies this situation and makes it seem like a generic solution. The offensive play call has to have a seam route built into it, and the assumption is that the defense doesn’t have a trap coverage on where they actually want the quarterback to throw the seam. But, generally speaking, it is a simple solution that a lot of offenses use to give their quarterback a quick and easy read when the defense tries to change the picture/coverage on them post-snap.
Q: Over under on INT’s for Mr Big Bux, big play huntin’ Geno Smith?
A: LOL! I know this is a joke, but the good news is that the Titans only have three interceptions in five games so far, and none of their defenders have more than one. So, if Geno throws multiple picks in the game, a major problem will officially become a major, major problem, twice as bad!
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
See More:
