Trade rumors are swirling for star players on struggling teams now that the first quarter mark of the NFL season has arrived.
The trade deadline was pushed this year to Nov. 5, but there might be a few blockbuster trades well before then. Things got awkward for the Las Vegas Raiders after coach Antonio Pierce’s Instagram account liked a social media post suggesting the team is shopping Davante Adams.
Perhaps it was an accidental like—or the accidental like on purpose, for those who watch Curb Your Enthusiasm—and it’s not the Raiders’ priority to trade Adams. But the damage has been done regardless, with reports emerging Tuesday of the star wideout preferring to be traded rather than staying with the Silver and Black.
Let’s take a look at the Raiders’ latest messy situation for “Fact or Fiction.” We’re also keeping our eye on Matthew Stafford after the Los Angeles Rams fell to 1–3 on the season.
Raiders need to trade Davante Adams soon
Manzano’s view: Fact
Kay Adams, the host of Up and Adams, struggled to ask a follow-up question after Adams revealed Pierce hadn’t reached out to explain why his Instagram account liked a Sports Illustrated post mentioning the possibility of the team shopping the star wide receiver.
It was an awkward interview and a surprising response by Adams, one that made the trade rumors seem true while also raising many questions. Was Adams one of the players that Pierce was referring to when he made the “business decisions” comments after the embarrassing loss to the Carolina Panthers? Pierce will likely attempt to clear up the situation when he meets with reporters on Wednesday.
But whether or not it was an accidental Instagram like, the Raiders should trade Adams for various reasons, and should do it quickly while his value is high. That appears to be where the Raiders are headed after reports emerged of Adams prefering to be traded.
If Pierce believes Adams has checked out on the Raiders, he needs to push GM Tom Telesco to make a move as soon as possible. It would send a loud and clear message of the type of players he wants in his locker room. And it helps that Pierce managed to get an impressive bounce-back win against the Cleveland Browns without Adams and Maxx Crosby on the field. Pierce also benched cornerback Jack Jones for the first quarter vs. the Browns—a strong sign that Jones was one of the players who didn’t provide a full effort the week prior against Carolina.
Las Vegas should still trade Adams even if Pierce has no issues with his commitment to the team. After the first quarter of the season, the Raiders (2–2) appear to be stuck in mediocrity with a poor offense and standout defense. Being average hurt them last season when the 8–9 Raiders fell outside the top 10 in the 2024 draft and six quarterback prospects were gone by the time they were on the clock at No. 13.
They drafted tight end Brock Bowers, who appears to be the real deal. The Raiders can give Bowers a first-round rookie quarterback next season and truly rebuild if they land a high draft pick in 2025. They can increase their odds of acquiring a high draft pick by gaining more picks in a potential Adams trade. Pierce can coach to win and continue building the right culture knowing that the team can trade up in the draft with extra draft picks.
Rams should consider trading Matthew Stafford
Manzano’s view: Fiction
It’s way too soon for the Rams to waive the white flag because of a 1–3 start to the season, especially after what they did last season.
Sean McVay’s team was 3–6 after an ugly 20–3 loss in Green Bay and returned from the bye week with a few key players back from injury and won seven of their final eight games to make the postseason.
Ironically, the Rams get the Packers at home this week before the bye week. They might fall to 1–4, but they need to at least see what this team does when Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are cleared to play, which might be after the bye week.
And Stafford has played well most of the season, with the veteran signal-caller getting contributions from Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington amid the injuries. It wasn’t that long ago when Stafford guided the Rams to an upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
At 36, Stafford appears to have a few more good years, but the team might need to revise his deal again and offer him more guaranteed money for next season, similar to what the Rams did before the start of this season. Even if the Rams decide to go in a different direction and aim to select a quarterback in the first round, they can still get some value for Stafford in the offseason.
Chargers aren’t using Justin Herbert properly
Manzano’s view: Fiction
It only took a two-game losing streak in September for many to sour on the Los Angeles Chargers’ coaching staff, specifically offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Many were quick to praise Roman and said Justin Herbert throwing less was good for the team when the Chargers beat the Raiders and Panthers in the first two games of the season. Now, many are saying the opposite because Herbert hasn’t had pretty numbers in the back-to-back losses against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chargers being last in passing attempts this season (23.25 per game) isn’t ideal for a quarterback making an annual average of $52.5 million. They need to let Herbert show off his elite skill set a little more or might as well trade him and go a cheaper route with a Sam Darnold-like quarterback. But there needs to be a balance, because Herbert throwing 40-plus times per game got the Chargers nowhere during the first four seasons of his career.
Jim Harbaugh’s long-term vision for a dominant running offense is still the right way to help Herbert, who can take over games in the final quarter if needed. But they just faced two of the best defenses in the league and Herbert has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury. This wasn’t going to be a quick fix with an inexperienced group of skill players in Los Angeles. And it’s tough to see the vision with starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt dealing with injuries.
Harbaugh will need to make slight adjustments for how to utilize Herbert, but the approach could pay off in the long run. Perhaps there should be less focus on Herbert and more attention on the defense that is allowing a league-best 12.5 points per game.
Dolphins need more from Mike McDaniel
Manzano’s view: Fact
Either the Dolphins make a trade for a quarterback or it might be time to waive the white flag on the season after another brutal offensive performance in the loss against the Tennessee Titans.
Obviously, it depends on the health of Tua Tagovailoa, but they shouldn’t rush him back after he sustained another concussion earlier this season. Mike McDaniel has received plenty of credit for reviving Tagovailoa’s career, but it’s starting to look like McDaniel needed Tagovailoa just as much as the quarterback needed the coach over the past two seasons. McDaniel’s system isn’t quarterback-proof even with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the field.
McDaniel hasn’t gotten much from backups Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley. And I won’t say, “Look at what Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has done with Darnold,” because he has a former first-round pick under center. Packers coach Matt LaFleur winning two games with Malik Willis is probably a better comparison. But McDaniel needs to at least have better game plans than what his offense showed in the losses against the Seattle Seahawks and Titans. Those games were over once the opponent surpassed 10 points.
Perhaps we need to stop referring to McDaniel as an offensive mastermind until he gets better performances from his short-handed offense. Yes, injuries are a problem, but even when McDaniel has healthy players, he struggles to make in-game adjustments. The Dolphins need more from the head coach they recently re-signed.
Nabers-Jones have been better than Harrison-Murray
Manzano’s view: Fiction
I recently suggested in my winners and losers column that the New York Giants’ duo of Malik Nabers and Daniel Jones might be playing better than the Arizona Cardinals’ tandem of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kyler Murray.
After thinking it over, that hasn’t been the case because Giants coach Brian Daboll likely wouldn’t think twice about trading Jones for Murray—the top two quarterbacks taken in the 2019 draft.
Jones has found some consistency because of Nabers’s production, but there are reasons why Daboll settled for five field goals in the loss against the Dallas Cowboys last week. Sure, Nabers has been better than Harrison, but not by a lot. Both rookie first-round wide receivers are off to strong starts in their respective careers.
There’s something about Murray, though, that often leaves you wanting more. He’s one of the best creators in the league, but he often has quiet stretches, including in the back-to-back losses against the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. Murray is being paid like a top-10 quarterback, even though he often fails to play at that level. I can’t remember a stretch where Murray was as good as Jayden Daniels the past three games with the Commanders, who crushed the Cardinals last week.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Fact or Fiction: The Raiders Need to Trade Davante Adams Immediately.