Report: Raiders eyeing trade up from No. 13 pick to land new QB
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis "grilled" general manager candidates during the interview process about a strategy on how to trade up from the No. 13 pick to potentially draft a new quarterback, sources told Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Head coach Antonio Pierce also wants to be aggressive in trying to find a franchise signal-caller, NFL Network adds.
The 2024 NFL Draft is rich in quarterbacks, with USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oregon's Bo Nix, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy all expected to be selected in the first two rounds.
Las Vegas hired Tom Telesco as its new general manager in January. Telesco spent 11 seasons in the same role with the Los Angeles Chargers before landing with the Raiders.
During his tenure with the Chargers, Telesco only traded up once in the first round of the draft, moving up to the No. 15 pick in 2015 to select running back Melvin Gordon III.
The Raiders signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $72.75 million contract last offseason. But things didn't go as planned: Garoppolo was benched before the club's Week 9 victory over the New York Giants. The 32-year-old has $11.25 million in guaranteed salary remaining on his deal and is set to have a $28.3 million cap hit in 2024, according to Over The Cap.
Rookie signal-caller Aidan O'Connell started 10 games for the team in 2023, including the final nine contests after Garoppolo was benched. He went 5-5 in those appearances, totaling 2,218 passing yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Las Vegas' offense ranked 21st in success rate and 23rd in points per game in 2023.
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