Oakland Raiders: 3 trades that could send Ezekiel Elliott to Oakland
Conclusion
The reason these “rumors” popped up in the first place is due to a perfect storm of circumstances that make the Raiders seem like the ideal suitor for a trade for Ezekiel Elliott.
The Oakland Raiders have not shied away from players that are rough around the edges. They’ve invited controversy in almost every sense of the word in the last couple of years. They’ve established a relationship negotiating with the Cowboys when they traded Amari Cooper to Dallas last season.
Elliott might seem like a player worth going after at first glance because his name is going to jump off of the page. He’s one of the top players at his position.
In an offseason where the Oakland Raiders have shown a willingness to ignore drama for the sake of excellence at a position, Elliott would serve as a reprise to the Antonio Brown deal.
The difference, though, is that the Raiders will not get away with the heist they got away with in Pittsburgh.
For weeks, there was talk from Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert that the franchise would need “significant compensation” to make a deal happen. Oakland offered two mid-round picks and got the deal done.
And that doesn’t even mention the $21 million hit in dead money it takes against the Steelers’ cap.
This is not a matter of asking if lightning will strike twice, but a matter of understanding that these are two completely different players with two completely different impacts on the game. Sure, Elliott would add some more intrigue heading to Vegas.
But do the Raiders really need that?
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No. The Raiders need to stay on course and commit to their plan of making strides through exceptional draft selections. They have no reason to dump money into a position that won’t completely reinvigorate them.
Any of these three proposed trades would at least pique the interest of the Dallas front office. But for Raiders fans — and hopefully their own front office — any of these three offers coming the opposite way should be avoided at all costs.
Not a single one of these benefits the Oakland Raiders. They hamper them.
The likelihood is that Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys will come together on a new deal. In fact, there are reports that the two sides are in talks that are intensifying and could be settled over the weekend.
That’s fine for the Raiders.
On paper, the Raiders can make a deal like this happen, but it will come at an extreme cost that will give up talented, controllable assets as well as picks which are the very foundation of the plan to one day bring a winning team to Las Vegas.
Next. Oakland Raiders: Top 3 takeaways from the team’s initial round of cuts. dark
They should steer clear of the Elliott trade talks at pretty much any cost because the only way that Jerry Jones budges is if the Raiders are willing to sell the estate before they head to the desert.
And fans shouldn’t want to see it happen either.