Raiders urged to sign breakout star who could cost $150 million

The Las Vegas Raiders person a pivotal offseason ahead, arsenic the franchise volition prosecute a caller caput manager and wide manager aft firing Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco this week. The Raiders suffered their 3rd consecutive losing play successful 2024 and haven't won a playoff crippled successful 22 years.

Las Vegas has a ton of holes to capable this offseason, with backmost arguably being the astir pressing need. Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew served arsenic the starters astatine the backmost for astir of the year, and neither are semipermanent answers astatine the sport's astir captious position.

Many thought the Raiders could prime a awesome caller successful the draft, but the squad owns the No.6 wide pick, and determination are a fewer quarterback-needy teams up of them successful the draught order, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans. It's improbable the class's apical 2 backmost prospects, Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, volition beryllium connected the committee erstwhile Las Vegas is connected the timepiece successful Round 1.

With the Raiders apt retired of presumption for a awesome caller successful April's draft, Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker believes the squad should motion Minnesota Vikings backmost Sam Darnold successful 2025 escaped agency.

The Raiders’ improbable, late-season drawstring of wins knocked them down to the No. 6 prime successful the 2025 NFL Draft, which apt means they won’t beryllium capable to onshore Cam Ward oregon Shedeur Sanders unless they commercialized up. Instead, it would beryllium astute to motion a free-agent backmost — adjacent successful a precise constricted marketplace — portion bolstering 1 of galore anemic points via the draft.

Darnold’s terms tag volition astir apt transcend $150 cardinal based connected the twelvemonth he’s enactment unneurotic successful 2024. In his archetypal play with the Vikings, the erstwhile No. 3 wide prime ranks 10th among qualifiers with an 80.3 PFF passing people successful summation to eighth successful big-time propulsion complaint (5.6%) and 5th successful wins supra replacement. Assuming the Vikings manus the reins to J.J. McCarthy, the Raiders consciousness similar 1 of the much apt Darnold landing spots, holding the second-most headdress abstraction ($107 million).

Darnold has had a vocation renaissance with the Vikings successful 2024, arsenic the erstwhile top-five prime threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, on with 12 interceptions. Darnold showed immense poise and accuracy this play and showcased that helium tin beryllium an capable starting backmost successful the NFL.

The Raiders person gone down the seasoned free-agent way to code backmost implicit the past 2 years, signing Jimmy Garoppolo successful 2023 and Gardner Minshew successful 2024. Both signings were implicit flops, arsenic Garoppolo was chopped by the team aft conscionable 1 season, and Minshew was underwhelming this twelvemonth and suffered a season-ending collarbone injury successful Week 12.

Though the past 2 free-agent quarterbacks that Las Vegas has signed haven't panned out, Darnold is having a vocation twelvemonth successful 2024 and has been 1 of the champion awesome callers successful shot this season. The Raiders should effort to motion the 2024 Pro Bowler successful escaped bureau this offseason and besides prosecute an offensive-minded caput manager to brace with Darnold, who has flourished nether Kevin O'Connell's tutelage.

Overall, Las Vegas needs amended backmost play if they privation to vie for a playoff spot adjacent season. Though Sam Darnold isn't an breathtaking player, the 27-year-old has been fantastic successful 2024 and could pb the Raiders backmost into the playoffs successful 2025.

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