The Las Vegas Raiders are perhaps the hottest team when it comes to trade rumors at the quarterback position given how much Geno Smith has struggled after reuniting with head coach Pete Carroll for each man’s first year in the desert.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report on Wednesday predicted that the Raiders will trade for third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the NFL’s November 4 deadline.
“At this point, it’s pretty obvious Daniel Jones is the Colts’ guy, and equally obvious that Geno Smith is not the guy in Las Vegas. So, it would make sense for the Raiders to bring in a potential reclamation project who could be in the mix for the 2026 starting job,” Gagnon wrote. “Indy gets cornerback Eric Stokes back as a one-year rental in the secondary but also coughs up a middle-round draft pick as a result.”
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Richardson is a former No. 4 overall pick who has unteachable arm talent and explosive ability with his legs. He’s on a $34 million rookie contract that includes a fifth-year team option for 2027, which the relevant team must decide upon by late next spring.
Gagnon’s was the second trade proposal authored by a major outlet Wednesday, in which the Raiders receive incoming draft compensation as part of the acquisition of a quarterback with once high expectations who has fallen out of favor with his current organization.
“The Raiders currently have $103 million and $174 million in 2026 and 2027 cap space, respectively. What I would propose here is the Dolphins send a 2026 second-round pick and 2027 second-round pick along with [Tua] Tagovailoa in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick,” Seth Walder of ESPN wrote.
“If that trade happened next week, Las Vegas would keep Tagovailoa through 2026 at a cost of roughly $70 million over that time, the vast majority fully guaranteed. It would get the Dolphins out of their tight cap situation so they can reset and rebuild, and it would be a more efficient use of resources for Las Vegas — regardless of whether Tagovailoa ever takes the field for them or not.”
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