Las Vegas

Raiders

Adams’ agents have already refuted any talks of a trade, saying those rumors are “baseless” while adding, “There has been absolutely no trade talk — period.” Adams was one of the receivers featured on the Netflix series “Receiver,” and was heard saying on the sideline at one point that he had to “get out of here before I get killed.” While that can be interpreted in a few different ways, it’s no surprise that some would infer that Adams is looking for a trade out of Vegas. The veteran receiver joined the Raiders in 2022 to team up with former college teammate Derek Carr, only to see Carr benched at the end of the season and leave for the Saints during the 2023 offseason. Adams continues to be a high-end producer, but he’s stuck on a roster that isn’t expected to compete for a championship any time soon. It sounds like he’ll be ready to catch passes from Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew for 17 games when the time comes.

Adams’ agents described him being traded as “baseless” and pure speculation. Many media outlets have suggested that Adams could be on the move to the Jets, to play with Aaron Rodgers once again. For now, it seems like no more than a pipe dream for fantasy managers as well, Adams will be catching passes from Gardner Minshew or Aiden O’Connell for the foreseeable future.

According to Reed, both O’Connell and Minshew “got off to a rough start in OTAs,” struggling with accuracy and turnovers while offering little in the way of a vertical passing game. Given the profiles of both quarterbacks and what we saw last year, this isn’t all that surprising, as O’Connell and Minshew ranked 17th and 20th in ADOT last season amongst 30 quarterbacks (min. 300 dropbacks). It was reported in June by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that O’Connell “probably has the slight edge” over Minshew in the Raiders’ quarterback competition, but that’s to be expected with O’Connell being the incumbent to the newly-signed Minshew. Both quarterbacks are serviceable starters, but neither should be viewed as a long-term answer at the position. Barring an unexpected breakout from either signal-caller, Reed notes that “it wouldn’t be a surprise if both Minshew and O’Connell take the field at some point this year.”

Tafur notes that the Raiders adding a running back would likely push rookie sixth-rounder Dylan Laube to the practice squad before the start of the season. Incumbent Zamir White is expected to remain as the team’s lead back, with free agent signee Alexander Mattison expected to spell him on occasional downs. The Raiders’ running back room is thin behind White. In his first and only season as a full-time starter, Mattison rushed for 700 scoreless yards while averaging 3.9 YPC and averaged just 4.2 yards per touch overall. Laube, in addition to his low draft capital, is a 24-year-old back from FCS New Hampshire who will likely need time to adjust to the competition he’ll see at the NFL level. While there’s a short list of serviceable running backs available on the open market, there are a handful of vets like Dalvin Cook and Jerick McKinnon who could provide valuable depth to the roster.

Tucker operated as a vertical slot receiver last year, ranking top-two in aDOT (17.5), yards per reception (17.8) and deep-target rate (30.0 percent) among 17 rookie wide receivers with at least 75 slot receiving snaps. He caught 100 percent of his targets deemed catchable by PFF. The Raiders deep tight end group, featuring Michael Mayer and first-round rookie Brock Bowers, make for tough interior target competition but Tucker’s continuing offseason drum beat and defined role work in his favor.

Minshew went 7-6 as the Colts’ starter in 2023 and earned a two-year, $25 million contract from the Raiders in the offseason. It made sense to pencil him in as the starter when he signed the deal, but O’Connell has looked good in the offseason program after making some noise as a rookie. He went 5-5 as a starter and put his best work on tape down the stretch. O’Connell threw for eight touchdowns with no interceptions in the final four weeks of the season. For now, fantasy managers can avoid this quarterback room as we will likely see both passers at some point this season.

5-foot-9, 4.4-speed Tucker caught just 19 balls as a third-round rookie last season, though 11 of those came over his final four games. Per Gutierrez, he has been “blowing by poor defensive backs” and “stopping on a dime to run comebacks and outs.” He’s caught the attention of coach Antonio Pierce. “Tre Tucker, different dude,” Pierce gushed. “Looks different. Acts different. Runs different. Catches the ball different. Don’t look at the size; don’t mention that. Watch him play. He’s the biggest guy out there.” Tucker is a distant third on the depth chart behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, but his No. 3 job certainly sounds secured. He’s a late-round freebie behind his older teammates.

Teamer was released by the Raiders last season following an arrest for a DUI. Teamer has played primarily on special teams during his career, and played his college football at Tulane. It’s a return home for Teamer, who will have a chance to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster this offseason.

Carter spent last season with the Raiders, appearing in all 17 games while catching four passes for 39 scoreless yards. For much of his six-year career, Carter’s primary contributions have been in the return game. He returned 35 kicks and punts for 494 yards and could flourish as a kick returner under the league’s new return rules. He’ll likely have to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster but should have a good shot at handling primary kick return duties this season.

After spending all of the offseason away from the Giants, Waller is now ready to hang it up. The eight-year vet entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2015. The former Georgia Tech wide receiver battled through substance abuse issues early in his career and missed the 2017 season as a result of being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He returned to the Ravens in 2018 and was traded to the Raiders at the end of that season. In 2019, Waller, who had made the permanent switch to tight end, broke out for 90-1145-3 and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2020 when he caught 107 passes for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns. Injuries would plague him over the last three years, as he appeared in just 32 of a possible 51 games and played in just 12 games for the Giants in his lone season with the team. Waller overcame late draft capital, early struggles in his career, and a positional overhaul to carve out a solid career for himself. His retirement frees up roughly $11.6 million in cap space for the Giants, who are now expected to go with third-year tight end Daniel Bellinger as their starter. They also selected Penn State’s Theo Johnson with the No. 107 pick in this year’s draft.