It wasn't overly surprising when Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported the Raiders are engaging teams who are interested in trading for tight end Michael Mayer. The full-on rookie season emergence of Brock Bowers has rendered the 2023 second-round pick far less useful and not part of the long-term plan, and Las Vegas can surely use draft pick assets to stock a talent-poor roster.
Mayer has of course had a very disappointing first two NFL seasons, and last season was notably impacted by a six-game absence due to personal reasons. But he's only 23 years old (24 in July), and he arguably has as much upside potential as any tight end in this year's draft class, which is deep at the position. The free agent class of tight ends is not robust though, which tangentially bolsters the Notre Dame product as a trade commodity for the Raiders.
It will come down to what the Raiders can or want to get for Mayer, but a third or fourth-round pick feels reasonable depending on how many teams are interested. And there should be several teams with some level of interest.
Report: 'Plenty of teams' interested in Michael Mayer
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, multiple teams have been doing due diligence on Mayer, multiple sources say the Raiders are trying to trade him and lastly, "plenty of teams are interested."
The initial report from The Athletic over the weekend could have been taken to indicate the Raiders are shopping Mayer, or that teams are calling about him with the idea Bowers has rendered him expendable. Or maybe a mix of both. Bonsignore cleared the air there some, with a clarification of his initial reporting from Monday.
The Raiders have a player they are willing (and able) to trade that a lot of other teams are apparently quickly lining up to show interest in. That's certainly some rare air in recent franchise history. We'll see if the new regime can fully capitalize on the situation.
