Raiders Named Trade Fit for Recently Benched QB Who Still Has Big-Time Potential

Getty Las Vegas Raiders GM Tom Telesco.

The Las Vegas Raiders aren’t the only team in the NFL with major questions at quarterback. Just a year after using the No. 4 overall pick to select Anthony Richardson, the Indianapolis Colts appear to be down on him.

The team decided to bench him in favor of Joe Flacco. It’s possible that Richardson still has a future in Indianapolis but it just became much murkier. The problem he faces is that he’s very much a project but the Colts are too good right now to wait for him to develop.

The Raiders aren’t even close to being a playoff team right now so they can afford to let a young quarterback work out the kinks. Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report listed Las Vegas among the teams that could be a fit for Richardson.

“The ideal offense for Richardson has to lean heavily into the run,” Ballentine wrote in an October 31 column. “The Raiders have struggled to run the ball, but they could build a really interesting offense around his running ability and the tight end tandem of Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer.

“Pierce needs a spark after a terrible start to his head coaching stint with the Raiders. Trading for someone with a much higher ceiling than anyone they have on the roster could do the trick.”

Should Raiders Trade for Anthony Richardson?

It would be interesting to see what the Colts’ potential asking price for Richardson would be. He has hardly played any games and his potential is still intriguing.

For the Raiders, Richardson could be a fun project but they shouldn’t give anything more than a third-round pick if he becomes available. When offensive coordinator Luke Getsy had a running quarterback with the Chicago Bears, they had a top-two rushing offense in back-to-back seasons.

This season, the Raiders have the second-worst rushing offense in the NFL. Adding Richardson would add a new dynamic to the offense. That said, Getsy hasn’t proven to be a good developer of quarterbacks. Why invest in a quarterback project if your offensive coaching staff hasn’t shown to be capable of developing one? At this point, the Raiders are better off waiting until the offseason and potentially drafting a quarterback.

Gardner Minshew Talks Raiders Running Game

The Raiders can’t run the ball this season. They’re averaging 3.6 yards per carry, which is second-worst in the NFL. Gardner Minshew recently spoke about the rushing struggles.

“I think, as you do that, some of those quick completions kind of helps supplement that run game on first and second down,” Minshew said during his October 30 press conference. “And I mean, at the end of the day, it’s like, ‘How do you move the chains? How do you get yourself in good third downs?’ So, whatever that looks like, whether we run it and we get to a second-and-nine, then we got to throw it to make it up, or vice versa. Like you got to make it up one way or another and just put ourselves in good positions.”

The Raiders don’t have a good enough quarterback not to be able to run the ball so if they can’t figure out the rung game, they will continue to lose.