Daily Slop – 2 Oct 24: Commanders success in the run game is by design

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Sports Illustrated

Commanders Seeing Long-Term Vision Pay Off Early With First Place Start

With a new owner, a new coach, a new GM and a new QB, Washington has a direction for its program and it’s becoming clearer and clearer.

Dan Quinn and Adam Peters initially went to the league office in the spring asking for their games in Dallas and Arizona to be clustered together, so they could turn the two into one long trip—like a lot of teams do—and minimize the travel toll on their players. The NFL responded by giving the Washington Commanders back-to-back trips to Cincinnati (Monday night) and Arizona (Sunday) in September when Metro Phoenix feels like the inside of an oven.

The plan wasn’t really the way they drew it up.

Little did they know, it would wind up being about perfect.

The team’s new coach and GM took their crew to Ohio eight days ago at 1–1, a group with some promise, coming off a tough, grinding, NFC East win over the New York Giants, and a lot to prove. The Commanders are returning to D.C. this Monday morning looking like a football rocket ship after outgunning the Cincinnati Bengals, 38–33, and blowing out the much-improved Arizona Cardinals, 42–13.

They also come back a little tighter, a little tougher, a little more connected, bringing the group a little closer to the vision they had not just for the trip, or for the season, but for the program that Quinn and Peters are trying to build.

“We were like f— it, man, let’s find a space,” says Quinn, recalling the spring. “We thought flying back would be tough and then turning around and flying on a Friday right back to Arizona. We were fortunate—ASU [Arizona State], they took care of us. They had a bye this week. We were able to use their indoor facility. And when I say it was hot out here this week, like 114 hot. Out of hand.

“A lot of sacrifice for the guys. I told them, This will be worth it. It’ll hurt a little bit early in the week when we got there, because we arrived Tuesday at like 3 a.m., and then you got into Wednesday and Thursday. We said that by the time today hit [Sunday], you’ll be flying. That’s what we knew we were going to have to be able to do.”

They flew, all right. Rookie phenom Jayden Daniels was outrageously efficient, again, completing 26-of-30 throws for 233 yards and a touchdown. The run game churned out 216 yards. The defense sacked Kyler Murray four times. Washington scored 27 consecutive points after yielding a touchdown on the opening possession.

“Adam [Peters] and I, in the spring, came up with a term of guys ‘Being Commanders.’ What did that look like and feel like and sound like? There’s a number of guys here who are really fighting for it.”

– Dan Quinn

“Adam [Peters] and I had a lot of belief in the people here, and we knew we had a lot of things to do,” Quinn says. “More than anything, you’re trying to get an identity, and a team together that stands for what we stand for. We want to be tough. Adam and I, in the spring, came up with a term of guys ‘Being Commanders.’ What did that look like and feel like and sound like? There’s a number of guys here who are really fighting for it.

“We’re still just starting to build our story, and not looking much past that. Make sure over and over again, this s— stays consistent about how we fight.”

The good news is Quinn and Peters already have guys living up to that slogan.

There are a lot of cool things happening in Washington right now. And while Quinn himself will tell you that alone assures nothing, if you pay attention to how the last week played out, both behind the scenes and under the lights, it sure looks like the best is yet to come.

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Run game providing foundation for Commanders offense

Breaking down Brian Robinson and Jeremy McNichols’ performances against the Cardinals

Brian Robinson

With Ekeler out, Robinson saw a slight increase in workload. He had a season-high 21 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. He was the lead back and set the tone on the opening drive.

After starting the drive pretty well, the Commanders crossed midfield and found themselves at the Arizona 40 yard line. Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury decided to try and attack the perimeter with a crack toss scheme from a condensed formation. Receiver Terry McLaurin aligns tight to the left of the formation and cracks down inside on a linebacker to pin him inside. Inside of him, tight end John Bates wraps around McLaurin to block the corner trying to fill when he spots McLaurin blocking inside. The team also tries to pull left guard Nick Allegretti, but he gets caught up in traffic and is unable to get to the edge. That ends up not being an issue though thanks to McLaurin pinning the linebacker inside with a strong block and Bates leading the way on the edge.

Robinson receives the ball on the toss and immediately looks to take his run to the edge. He doesn’t think about trying to cut the ball up inside and just attacks the edge trying to get up to his top speed. With Bates doing a good job blocking the cornerback, Robinson is able to get to the edge and turn the corner to work down the sideline, working down the field for 17 yards before eventually being tackled by the deep safety.

Having just picked up a long run, Kingsbury went right back to Robinson on the next play, but with a completely different look.

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ESPN

Jayden Daniels brushes off first pick, delivers another Commanders win

Without intending to, he also sounded a bit of a warning to the rest of the league.

“We’ve still got room to grow,” Daniels said. “We’re not a finished product at all.”

Nine different Commanders caught a pass Sunday. A lot of that stems from Daniels’ accuracy and ability to give the receiver a chance to turn upfield for more yards.

But a lot goes back to the interception. For one, it revealed to McLaurin something they can improve upon in the future. The Cardinals’ two-deep coverage took his post route away, so next time against that coverage, he might alter his route — knowing Daniels will adjust his throw as well.

The fact that Daniels never flinched after the pick revealed another aspect of his game: He moved on.

“The NFL is always about the next play,” he said. “You can’t go back and fix what happened in the past …

“I guess you could say I kind of got greedy. … It is just, how can we bounce back?”

Washington has talked about his poise and maturity since he arrived in the spring. The Commanders spent last week training at Arizona State, where Daniels began his college career before transferring to LSU. But he blocked out potential distractions by staying in his room all week and doing what he always does: watch film with teammates.

“I just thought he handled it like a real G,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “Stayed steady all the way through in terms of the preparation.”

Which is why an interception turned out to be a chance to show even more of what he could do.

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The Guardian

Jayden Daniels has changed the comical Commanders into a serious franchise

In the 2023 draft, the Carolina Panthers made a major trade with the Chicago Bears to jump up and take Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No 1 overall pick. The Houston Texans were second, and they took Ohio State’s CJ Stroud.

More than a season later, the returns have returned. Young has struggled to the point where he’s the backup for a 36-year-old journeyman, and Stroud – who had one of the best rookie quarterback seasons ever – was the runaway NFL Offensive Rookie of the year.

In the 2024 draft, quarterbacks went one and two again. The Bears took USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick they got from the Panthers the year before. And then, the Washington Commanders selected LSU’s Jayden Daniels at No 2.

And with that selection, a once comical franchise appears to have been saved.

Some quarterbacks who are ruthlessly efficient become so because they throw mostly cheap stuff underneath defensive coverages. That’s not Daniels. On passes of 10-19 air yards this season, he has completed 18 of 21 passes for 294 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, a passer rating of 134.6, and a passing EPA of +29.0 – second-best in the NFL behind Brock Purdy. On passes of 20 or more air yards, Daniels has completed two of eight passes for 82 yards, one touchdown, one interception, a passer rating of 69.8, and a passing EPA of +0.4. The deep ball has been one of Daniels’ few shortcomings so far, but you can already see him processing the mistakes, and moving forward.

[F]or the most part, Daniels has already shown that he’s capable of running a complex NFL offense in a way you don’t expect from first-year guys. He’s already processing the game in line with his physical attributes at a level you’d expect from Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford.

While there have been other rookie quarterbacks who have started off strong in the NFL only to flame out, Daniels looks like he is here to stay. Kingsbury has expanded his playcalling palette from his Arizona days to give Daniels open concepts for his receivers, and although Daniels has no issue going through all the progressions in a play, he also knows when to take the profit his coaches and targets have set up for him. Daniels can play superstar when it’s required, but he doesn’t simply rely on his physical talents – and at 6ft 4in and 210lbs with blazing speed he has a few. As was the case during his Heisman Trophy season of 2023, Daniels just understands the game at a different level.

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Washington Post (paywall)

The Commanders as appointment TV? Oh, how a month changes everything.

For once, the Commanders are seizing a season before it’s too late. Thank Jayden Daniels.

[T]he NFL is almost designed to produce week-to-week overreactions. A six-day lull between games leaves a massive void to fill with analysis. When things are going well, we analyze why, and that analysis is — almost by default — positive. Daniels’s 82.1 percent completion percentage, his seven touchdowns (running and passing) and one interception in 106 pass attempts make him hard to pick apart at the moment. Even that lone pick could be dissected as a positive — because the process of going for a big play to McLaurin downfield wasn’t terribly flawed. The throw was. Live and learn.

But it’s also worth noting that when unexpected results trickle in week to week — and it’s fair to say that the dramatic Week 3 win at Cincinnati and Sunday’s blowout at Arizona were unexpected — the expectations for what’s ahead change, too.

It was just two weeks ago when Daniels and the Commanders’ offense couldn’t will their way across the goal line of the New York Giants. Washington kicked seven field goals in a wobbly 21-18 victory. The in-the-moment takeaway: Neither of these teams is any good.

The view two weeks later: The Philadelphia Eagles are a mess after giving up 445 yards to Tampa Bay and losing a second game. The Dallas Cowboys slogged their way to a Thursday night win against the Giants to get to 2-2 — but could be without star defenders Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence because of injuries. Five of the Cowboys’ next six games are against 2023 playoff teams: at Pittsburgh, vs. Detroit, at San Francisco, vs. Philadelphia and vs. Houston. Who’s going to be chasing this season?

Suddenly, when you map out the Commanders’ schedule, things shift. They’re already favored against the Browns. At the moment, they probably would be home favorites against Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta and Tennessee. Hold serve in those games, and that’s eight wins. Couldn’t they find two more in the remaining stash: home and away against Dallas and Philadelphia, plus road games at the Ravens, Giants and Saints and a home date with the Steelers?

Doing damage in the division doesn’t seem fanciful. Doing damage in the division seems well within reach.

For one of the few times this century, Washington’s NFL team is playing from ahead. For one of the few times this century, Washington’s NFL team is playing palatable, attractive football.

Which leads us to such unexpected headspaces. Clear the calendar. When do the Commanders play again? Can’t hardly wait.

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Upcoming opponent

Dawgs by Nature

NFL Power Rankings: Browns drop to 28th heading into Week 5, with Commanders on deck

Cleveland is in the bottom 5 teams in the NFL.

ESPN – No. 27 (down 4 spots)

Biggest issue on defense: Missed tackles

The Browns’ defense hasn’t looked like the elite unit it was in 2023, and missed tackles have played a big role. The issue has become especially problematic on the ground, as Cleveland is allowing 2.24 yards after contact per rush, the worst mark in the NFL. “A lot of guys are going in with their shoulder trying to lay that big hit … first guy’s got to wrap up and slow the runner down and stop his momentum,” defensive end Myles Garrett said after the Browns allowed more than 150 rushing yards to the Raiders on Sunday.

NFL.com – No. 28 (down 2 spots)

The offense has yet to surpass the 18-point mark in four games, and a defense that had earned a reputation as one of the league’s very best cannot make that same claim in 2024. Staked with a 10-0 lead, Cleveland allowed a Raiders team missing multiple starters (including Davante Adams) to score four times in its next five drives. The Browns settled down and generated an opportunity to give themselves a shot with a fourth-quarter scoop-and-score. But the offense couldn’t pick up the slack. A third-quarter INT off Amari Cooper’s hands stung, and then Cooper’s 82-yard TD being called back on a questionable holding penalty was an absolutely crushing blow in Sunday’s loss. This team just isn’t built to sustain those kinds of mistakes right now.

Bleacher Report – No. 27 (down 5 spots)

The Cleveland Browns are officially a mess. Cleveland’s injury-ravaged offensive line continues to struggle. The team’s offensive woes are spreading to a defense that allowed 152 rushing yards to one of the worst rushing teams in the league entering Week 4. Players are arguing on the sidelines. Quarterback Deshaun Watson downplayed the latter while addressing the media after the loss, saying that the spat between him, backup signal-caller Jameis Winston and tackle Dawand Jones was simply a matter of players pushing one another to be better.

“Just trying to be great, that’s it,” said Watson. “We just all got to get on the same page, so we can execute and try to win and be explosive. That was it. We all knew [the play would have been a touchdown]. We’ve just got to execute and be on the same page to make those big plays.”

For Davenport, it’s just one more example of how dysfunctional the Browns have become.

“You will no doubt hear plenty in the days to come about how there is still time to turn things around in Cleveland,” he wrote. “But this season is lost. Stick a fork in it. The injuries on the offensive line have rendered the offense toothless, especially when it’s run by a mediocre quarterback. The defense is cracking under the pressure of having to be perfect all the time. Cleveland’s next four games include meeting with the red-hot Commanders and Eagles and AFC North games with the Bengals and Ravens. Given how the Browns have looked this season, splitting those games would be borderline miraculous. When the Browns hit the halfway mark at 3-5 or 2-6, rumbles about the franchise’s future will turn into a roar. And there are no easy answers in that regard, either.”

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NFL suspends Browns DT Michael Hall Jr., can return to field soon

Browns top NFL draft pick will be eligible to be reinstated for Week 6

The Cleveland Browns 2024 season has almost been the worst-case scenario for the team. While they had a chance to pull out two of their three losses they could have easily lost their only win as well.

Off the field, DT Michael Hall Jr. was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List after being arrested after a domestic dispute.

As noted above, Hall will miss one more game before being eligible to return in Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles. On the field, the Browns need all the help they can get on both sides of the ball in order to overcome their poor start.

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Roster move indicates a possible Nick Chubb return in week 5

The Browns have waived RB Gary Brightwell following Nick Chubb’s update

the team also designated Nick Chubb to return off the PUP list yesterday. They officially have 21 days to put him on the active roster, but waiving Brightwell so early in the process makes it seem like Chubb could be activated sooner rather than later.

It’s been well documented that Chubb has been doing great with rehabbing his knee over the past year, some have even said he’s further ahead than he technically “should” be.

Though it’s not “set in stone” that Nick Chubb will be active and on the field against the Washington Commanders this weekend, all signs point to him being available very soon for this offense.

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Podcasts & videos

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ANOTHER ONE! ️PFT Commenter on Win over Cardinals, Jayden Daniels & Browns! | Get Loud | Commanders

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NFC East links

The Ringer

Week 4 under review

The Washington Commanders are winning the NFC East.

I know what you’re thinking: Sheil, you’re a wily vet. You’ve seen September Kliff Kingsbury before. It’s been four games. Don’t overreact to small samples. A lot of people read this very fine website. You don’t want to get dunked on six weeks from now when this take looks ridiculous.

I appreciate the concern. Really, I do. And I’ve considered all of that. But I just can’t ignore what’s right in front of me, and that’s Jayden Daniels turning into a star. He is completing a league-best 82.1 percent of his passes and averaging 8.5 yards per attempt (which ranks fourth). And let’s remember that he is in far from a perfect situation. The Washington offensive line was considered terrible coming into the season. No one could argue that his group of pass catchers is above league average. But Daniels is the reason it’s all working. Defenses have simply not had answers for him.

The Commanders put together a nearly flawless offensive performance against the Cincinnati Bengals last Monday night and then went to Arizona and did pretty much the same thing again in Week 4 (a span of only six days!). They scored on seven of nine possessions en route to a 42-14 victory. This was the first time since Week 1 that the Commanders punted. If we look at the past three weeks and take away the kneel-down drives, they’ve scored on 20 of 22 possessions. This is not normal stuff!

How not normal is it? Glad you asked. Since 2000, based on EPA per drive, the only offense that has been better through the first four weeks of the season than the 2024 Commanders is the 2007 New England Patriots. (Yes, those historically good New England Patriots.) If we look at just this season, the Commanders rank first in EPA per drive by a wide margin. The difference between them and the no. 2 Bengals is roughly the same as the difference between the Bengals and the no. 20 Steelers.

I repeat: THIS IS NOT NORMAL STUFF!

I look around the division and I see Eagles and Cowboys teams that have been mediocre (at best) through four weeks, and the Giants are an afterthought. The Commanders offense appears to be the best singular unit in the NFC East. Maybe I’ll live to regret it, but for now, I choose to believe what my eyes are telling me: This quarterback and this team are legit.

The 2024 Eagles look a lot like the 2023 Eagles.

The Eagles are 2-2 going into their bye, and they’re expecting to get key offensive players such as A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson back from injury. Still, the prevailing feeling in Philadelphia is that this season probably won’t be a whole lot of fun. In many ways, even though the pieces are different, it feels like a continuation of last year.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie opted for an unconventional approach in the offseason. He decided to retain head coach Nick Sirianni but stripped him of his responsibilities and assigned him new coordinators—Kellen Moore on offense and Vic Fangio on defense. Sirianni has been tasked with being a CEO-type head coach—someone who oversees the entire operation, focuses on culture and preparation, and handles game management.

Well, the game management has been an issue, and the team that took the field against the Bucs on Sunday did not look ready to play. Tampa jumped out to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back. The slow starts on offense aren’t new. The Eagles are the only NFL team that has failed to score a single point in the first quarter this season. On four opening drives, the Eagles have totaled one first down and 17 yards.

Because of the injuries, the offense has some built-in excuses. The defense, though? Well, that’s a different story. It had all 11 starters healthy Sunday and couldn’t get a stop when it needed it. The Bucs opted for a quick passing attack (Baker Mayfield’s average time to throw was 2.24 seconds) to neutralize the Eagles’ pass rush, and Fangio was unable to find answers. On the season, this year’s Eagles defense is actually performing worse than last year’s defense in terms of EPA per drive. This is where I remind you that Matt Patricia was prominently involved in directing last year’s defense.

Of course, it’s not all coaching. General manager Howie Roseman drew rave reviews in the offseason for trading Haason Reddick to the Jets and replacing him with Bryce Huff in free agency. Through four games, Huff and Reddick (who continues to hold out from the Jets and has not played) have the same number of sacks, and Huff has just one more pressure. Internally, the Eagles are probably tired of hearing about last year. But if they return from the bye looking like the same team we’ve seen through four weeks, the connections will be impossible to shake.

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NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

Goodell Expects to ‘Make a Few Changes’ to NFL Kickoff Rules

After four weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season, commissioner Roger Goodell has seen enough of the league’s new dynamic kickoff rules that he’s apparently ready for something different.

“I think we’ll have to make a few changes on the kickoff that will, I think, lead to a lot more kickoff returns,” he said Tuesday on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

Teams are returning 29.1% of kickoffs so far this season, compared to the record low of 22% in 2023. Goodell said that moving touchbacks up 5 yards to the 35-yard line “would be a game-changer right away.”

It’s extremely unlikely the NFL would make a major rule change midseason, though, given the competitive imbalances that could occur.

“I think that there will be a change,” Goodell said. “Whether we make it immediately after the season, we’re going to have a competition committee [meeting] in the next week.”

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Pro Football Talk

Titans wisely didn’t try to field late onside kick

The play happened after a safety. The Dolphins had a free kick from their own 20. They were permitted to declare, and to attempt, an onside kick.

The Dolphins punted the ball at the 20. It landed on the Miami 47.

The Titans made the “Peter” call as the ball was landing (it can easily be heard on the broadcast), instructing the players to stay away from the ball.

Titans special-teams coordinator Colt Anderson was livid, telling the players that they should have made a fair catch. ESPN rules analyst Jerry Bergman seemed very confused, too. Play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler, whose primary beat is college football, kept insisting that the Titans should have called for a fair catch.

The players on the field weren’t confused by any of it. To their credit.

They apparently knew the rule. If the kick goes untouched beyond 25 yards from the spot of the kick (the 10-yard restraining line plus the 15-yard setup zone), the receiving team takes possession. And, on top of that, here’s the penalty: “For an onside kick that goes untouched beyond the onside kick setup zone: Loss of 15 yards from the kicking team’s restraining line and the receiving team takes possession.”

The ball landed two yards past the setup zone. This means that, even without a fair catch, it became Tennessee’s ball. On top of that, they got the ball 15 yards (here, half the distance) from the spot of the kick.

While it required a careful and accurate estimate of where the ball would land, the Titans players got it right. It hit the ground more than 25 yards from the spot of the kick. And if a Tennessee player had called for a fair catch and muffed it, the Dolphins could have recovered the ball and retained possession.

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The Athletic (paywall)

NFL Week 4 best and worst coaching decisions: Kliff Kingsbury, Todd Monken run wild

Good offenses in 2024 have to be able to run the ball. Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has the Commanders offense rolling and a big reason is his creative run game. The Ravens offense looked shaky in the first two games but coordinator Todd Monken has since made the necessary adjustments to get Derrick Henry rolling downhill. As a result, they’re averaging 31.5 points in their last two games.

The Commanders rank fifth in the league in rushing success rate on designed runs (no scrambles).

Legendary head coach Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls in Washington with three different quarterbacks using his counter run game. With Kingsbury, counter is a big part of the offense but in a modern way.

On the game’s first drive, the Commanders threw the Cardinals defense a curve coming out with two tight ends, splitting Daniels out wide, and putting running back Brian Robinson Jr. at quarterback. Kingsbury called “super counter.” Counter usually involves two pullers at the point of attack. Super counter includes a third blocker. Right guard Sam Cosmi’s job was to pull to the left to kick out the edge player — remember that for the next play. The H-back is supposed to pull and lead through the hole. The third blocker was running back Jeremy McNichols, who was responsible for the corner.

Later in the game, the Commanders ran counter again but with a clever tweak against the Cardinals’ odd front (three defensive linemen).

13:22 remaining in the second quarter, first-and-10

Usually, on a counter to the right, right tackle Andrew Wylie (highlighted in the image) would block down on the defensive lineman in front of him and the pulling guard would pull to the edge defender. But here, Wylie bluffed like he was going to block down on L.J. Collier before getting out to block the edge defender. Again the backside guard and H-back pulled to the play side.

Kingsbury’s offense has its tropes that haven’t changed but in the last couple of weeks, he has gone away from those tendencies based on the matchup, which is encouraging. He usually doesn’t move his receivers around much but last week against the Bengals, he moved around Terry McLaurin to create favorable matchups including on the game-sealing touchdown pass. This week, he used multiple tight end sets on a little over 50 percent of snaps to punish the Cardinals’ weak run defense.

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Discussion topics

NFL.com

Leaving Las Vegas? Davante Adams informs Raiders he would prefer to be traded

Adams, one of the NFL’s preeminent wide receivers, informed the Raiders on Monday he would prefer to be traded, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday. There is no deal imminent, but it’s definitely a situation to monitor, Rapoport and Garafolo added.

The league’s trade deadline is Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. ET.

Immediate speculation as to where Adams could potentially land will be pointed at the New York Jets, where he could potentially reunite with former Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers. However, the Jets already have a young WR1 in Garrett Wilson complemented by Mike WFor the Jets, Chiefs or any potential suitor, working out compensation isn’t the only concern in trying to acquire Adams. The three-time All-Pro has a $16.8 million base salary due this season with all of it guaranteed. After that, he has two years remaining on his contract with $35.6 million due in 2025 and $36.6 due in 2026, but no guaranteed money.

Adams is 31, but coming off his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season. In three starts this season, Adams has recorded 18 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown.

Pierce and the 2-2 Raiders want to win now, which would seem to be in direct contrast to trading one of their — and the league’s — top players. But as of today, it seems like both parties are mulling over a separation.illiams and Allen Lazard.

Over The Cap

The Cost to Trade for Davante Adams

The cost to trade for Adams at the moment would be $13.526 million. That number would drop by $968K each week that Adams’ remains on the Raiders roster. 11 teams in the NFL have the cap space necessary to make such a trade including the Jets, Cowboys, and Browns.

The trade compensation would be interesting. Years ago Julio Jones went for a 2 and a 4/6 swap. Jones had more realistic time on his contract when the trade with the Titans occurred (Jones was under contract for three years) as Adams contract is structured as more of a 1 year deal. Adams salary in 2025 is not guaranteed and balloons up to $36.25M that year. He has the same salary in 2026. When the contract was negotiated the 2025 and 2026 salaries were only included to boost the annual value of the contract and were considered unlikely to be earned.

The Raiders could also be asked to pick up most of Adams’ salary in a trade and ask for more compensation in return. That might be more along the lines of a 1st round pick or 2nd and 3rd type situation. That would open the door for teams like the Bills to get involved in trade discussions and likely give the Raiders much more leverage in trade talks.

The Raiders are basically in QB purgatory right now playing out the string with journeyman Gardner Minshew until they can turn the page and find their way into a legit potential young star. A high draft pick for Adams could help them try to secure such a player. Given the nature of Adams contract with the high salary in 2025 odds are they would be cutting him next year for nothing in return.

The Raiders cap charges if they traded Adams would currently be $11.693M in 2024 and $15.7M in 2025. The 2024 number increases by the $968K mentioned above for each week Adams remains a Raider.