Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek have some work to do in their first season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
They are tasked with lifting up a team that was stuck in the mud in 2024. The Raiders lost ten straight games last season, leading to a 4-13 season and serving as a catalyst for the firings of former head coach Antonio Pierce and GM Tom Telesco. Needless to say, Carroll and Spytek have their work cut out for them.
While the team has plenty of resources at their disposal, the new regime has the potential to continue loading up on resources. In fact, one analyst suggests a surprising move to do exactly that.
Analysts weighed in on the possibility of the Raiders trading starting left tackle Kolton Miller this offseason.
According to The Wright Way Sports Network’s Anthony Miller, Miller is someone the Raiders should consider trading.
“Miller is coming off one of his best seasons in his seven-year career, with an impressive PFF ranking of 14th overall, 11th in pass-blocking, and 31st in run-blocking out of 141 tackles,” wrote Miller.
“Trading Miller makes a lot of sense because the Raiders have a new coaching staff and a change in schemes, plus Miller’s age doesn’t fit the “rebuild” phase of the Raiders. Moving him to a contender for whatever they can get before he leaves in free agency next offseason would be wise.”
On the surface, moving on from Miller is not a far-fetched proposition.
Neither Carroll nor Spytek have any connection to Miller, so they do not have any reason to commit to him. The left tackle only has one year left on his deal, and Spytek could save $12.3 million and pick up an extra pick or two in a trade. If Spytek has no interest in an extension, moving on from Miller now makes more sense than risking losing him for nothing next year.
That said, the Raiders have no impetus to make such a decision, at least not at the moment.
Miller is one of the longest-tenured Raiders on the current roster, sticking with the team since being drafted in the first round in 2018. Since then, he has developed nicely as a starting left tackle, giving the Raiders some certainty at one of the more important positions on the team. With no backup plan currently on the roster, trading Miller is little more than opening up another hole on the roster for the sake of it.
It is doubtful that Miller gets traded this off-season, but it is worth keeping in mind at the trade deadline if the Raiders are in a similar position to last year.
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