The Oakland Raiders have been mentioned in Terrelle Pryor trade rumors for weeks now and teams like the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings could be potential options for a deal for GM Reggie McKenzie, especially if the Raiders are looking at Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr as potential draft targets.
The Raiders have had an active but odd offseason, as they came in with a record amount of cap space and while they signed a number of players, many they expected to retain were allowed to leave, while most of the big name players signed with other teams, including Ben Tate and Hakeem Nicks. Coming into the offseason, many expected the Raiders to retain Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer, but both those players were allowed to leave, while others thought Darren McFadden would be gone and he ended up staying on a smaller deal.
The Raiders lost Rashad Jennings, but they kept Charles Woodson and signed Austin Howard, Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and James Jones along with trading for Matt Schaub and that should make the team at least marginally better come 2014. That last move, the trade for Schaub is what has sparked the Pryor trade rumors and ESPN.com reported last week that Pryor has asked to be released or traded from the team and this comes after he started half the game last season along with Matt McGloin. The Raiders long have said that they were going to look for a QB this offseason and now that Schaub has come in, they likely will not be drafting a player at the position with their top five pick and they could trade that as well.
The Raiders have just six draft picks after ditching one last season in the Matt Flynn deal and they also gave up one in the Schaub deal and that is what makes a Pryor trade intriguing. Reggie McKenzie could use Pryor to get another pick heading into the draft and that would be huge as the team tries to shore up some of their holes left over after the first wave of free agency. The team added Kevin Boothe and Donald Penn, but there are still questions on the line and the team also could use some more firepower at receiver and running back despite signing Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew to deals.
The Eagles looked like a potential destination before the team signed Mark Sanchez and now the Raiders could find a deal with the Cleveland Browns, as they still need a AB, or a team like the Bills, as ESPN.com has reported they have had interest in making a deal. Pryor could serve as a solid backup for EJ Manuel, as both are mobile quarterbacks and Pryor set a team record with 576 yards on the ground last season. The Houston Texans may opt out of taking a QB at number one and if they do that, they could be in the mix for Pryor and the top names heading into the draft includes Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel and all three are expected to be gone after the first 10 picks in the draft.
