While the Raiders’ 2024 campaign offered more disappointments than positives, the team can rest easy knowing they have a foundational piece in rookie Brock Bowers. However, with the tight end establishing himself as one of the best players at his position, the Raiders could now look to trade some of their positional depth.
According to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic, the Raiders have had trade discussions with teams about tight end Michael Mayer. While the former second-round pick has disappointed during his brief stint in the NFL, there are still teams willing to gamble on the player’s upside.
Drafted as the 35th pick in the 2023 draft, there was initial hope that Mayer would solidify the position for years to come. He somewhat looked the part of a starter as a rookie, finishing with 27 receptions for 304 yards and two scores in 14 games (12 starts). He was knocked down the depth chart last offseason when the Raiders added Bowers, and Mayer later landed on NFI due to undisclosed personal reasons. The 23-year-old ultimately finished his sophomore campaign with 21 catches for 156 yards.
To the Raiders’ credit, they still managed to get Mayer into about 63 percent of their offensive snaps when he was active, so the team’s two tight ends should be able to coexist. Still, as The Athletic notes, the Raiders were expecting a bigger impact from Mayer, and they could look to trade him for assets instead of keeping him around as a backup. With two years remaining on his inexpensive rookie pact, the Raiders probably aren’t feeling a whole lot of urgency, but there should be suitors willing to pull the trigger in an offseason that features an underwhelming TE class.
Mayer isn’t the only former draft pick on the block. According to The Athletic, Zamir White is also believed to be available. The former fourth-round pick showed up as a sophomore when he finished with 549 yards from scrimmage, and White seemed prime to lead the depth chart in 2024 following the departure of Josh Jacobs.
However, the RB failed to establish himself in the Raiders backfield, with the third-year player getting lapped by the likes of Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, and Sincere McCormick. White finished this past year with 213 yards from scrimmage, and any interested teams would surely be eyeing him as a depth option at this point.