The Las Vegas Raiders are going to add a veteran quarterback during NFL free agency. Head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco have made that clear on multiple occasions since they took over as the new power duo in Sin City.
Vegas has also been linked to trade-up scenarios in the 2024 NFL Draft for a potential franchise quarterback of the future.
The plan here could be relatively obvious. Add a stopgap QB1 while finding that young arm in the annual event.
It makes perfect sense. The Jimmy Garoppolo experiment was a magnificant failure last season. He was ultimately benched, only to be replaced by Aidan O’Connell. While the rookie played pretty well, he is not the long-term solution with the Raiders.
This leads us to the NFL free agent market and veterans who could be available to the Raiders during the offseason.
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Las Vegas Raiders likely to meet with Russell Wilson
Don’t hate the messenger, Raiders fans.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Las Vegas could very well be the third team to visit with Wilson after he was released by the Denver Broncos earlier in the week.
Wilson has already met with the New York Giants and is preparing for a visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Vegas could come next.
It’s no real surprise in that the Raiders have been linked to Wilson since pretty much the end of the 2023 NFL season.
From a pure fit standpoint, it does make sense. Wilson, 35, will likely take a veteran minimum contract with Denver forced to pay him north of $35 million for the 2024 season. The Super Bowl-winning signal caller is also coming off a solid statistical 2023 season in Denver.
- Russell Wilson stats (2023): 66.4% completion, 3,070 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT
Some will point to Wilson being benched by Sean Payton late last season. That had absolutely nothing to do with his performance. Rather, it was all about the Broncos not wanting to pay out his injury guarantees for the 2025 season. It was a major point of contention.
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Wilson would give the Raiders that stopgap option at quarterback. From there, Pierce and Telesco add a quarterback of the future in the 2024 NFL Draft. At the very least, it’s a succession plan for an organization that has been in quarterback purgatory since the days of Rich Gannon.