Oakland Raiders looking to acquire linebacker in last-minute trade?

The Oakland Raiders may be looking to acquire a linebacker just a few hours before the trade deadline arrives today at 1:00 p.m PT.

The Oakland Raiders find themselves in a tricky situation as the trade deadline approaches. Despite a quick 3-2 start to the season, the Raiders have lost their last two games and are now caught between being buyers and sellers at the deadline,

However, recent misfortunes could force them to become buyers, at least partially, simply out of necessity.

The Raiders entered the 2019 season still pretty thin at linebacker but the offseason acquisitions of Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall were expected to provide the team with two experienced veterans in the middle of the defense.

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Unfortunately, Marshall was released as part of final roster cuts and Burfict was handed a season-long suspension just a few games into the season. This was compounded with the loss of Marquel Lee to the injured reserve with an ankle injury.

And while 2018 holdovers Tahir Whitehead and Nicholas Morrow have done their best to hold the fort down, the depth is simply getting to thin. Undrafted rookie Justin Phillips saw time at the position this past week but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the game.

To make matters worse, Whitehead came away nicked up and not at 100 percent.

Outside of Morrow, the only other healthy linebackers on the roster are undrafted rookie Dakota Allen and special-teamer Kyle Wilber. The Raiders need help and fast.

And it seems that head coach Jon Gruden knows this. He had the following to say after Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans.

"“Well, like I said, we are going to try and bring in another linebacker and train him. We have Dakota Allen, who didn’t play yesterday also on the team, but we’re thin. We gotta add another linebacker, certainly. Hopefully, Whitehead is ready to go. He came out of the game a little nicked up too.”"

The team is going to add another linebacker — they have to. The question now turns to where will they acquire their newest defender.

Rumors have swirled for weeks that the Raiders were in the market to acquire a linebacker among other needs. These recent injuries make it impossible to ignore despite the team’s fading playoff hopes.

Linebackers who are on the trade market include veterans like Preston Brown, Elandon Roberts, and we even speculated earlier in the week about Washington Redskins linebacker Jon Bostic. However, the most intriguing name is Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran Lavonte David.

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David would obviously be a major upgrade but he’s not getting any younger and he certainly isn’t cheap. That said, the former All-Pro would likely be the team’s best linebacker in years and absolutely help sure up the position at least for next season.

While a trade remains very possible, the Raiders did bring in former Redskins linebacker Will Compton for a workout today so it’s also very possible they decide not to give up any more assets and sign another player off the streets.

The recently-released Zach Brown also remains an option if the team wants to pay more of a premium.

The Raiders have options and obviously the best way to solve their issues would come via a trade. But would it be the smartest and will they actually pull the trigger?

Next. Oakland Raiders: 3 players who could be traded away at the deadline. dark

That remains to be seen.

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