The Las Vegas Raiders will likely be in the quarterback market this offseason, as the team got abysmal play from Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew in 2024 and has had a carousel at the position since the departure of Derek Carr.
Las Vegas could select a signal-caller in April’s draft, but Pro Football Network’s Ben Rolfe predicts the team will pull off a blockbuster trade for New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“Rodgers could be available for a trade and potentially make Vegas a challenger,” Rolfe wrote. “Of course, that’s a risk, given what we saw from him last season.”
“Picking sixth in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Raiders are unlikely to see either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders fall to them,” Rolfe added. “A trade-up to get either would be expensive, and there’s no guarantee it would be any more successful than a gamble on Rodgers.”
“Rodgers is a relatively cheap experiment in 2025. He would only cost $9.5 million against the cap and $37.5 million in cash for the year. The Raiders can then also make moves to enhance Rodgers’ chances of succeeding. Davante Adams reunion, anyone?”
Rodgers has had a tumultuous tenure with the Jets since being traded to New York during the 2023 offseason. The four-time MVP played just a handful of plays in 2023 before tearing his Achilles during the team’s season opener versus the Buffalo Bills.
The veteran started all 17 games for the Jets in 2024 and had a decent statistical season, tossing 28 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions with a 63% completion rate. However, New York posted an atrocious 5-12 record, and Rodgers’ future with the Jets is uncertain.
Though the 41-year-old isn’t the same player he once was, Rodgers can still be an adequate signal-caller who can lead a team to the postseason. As Rolfe stated, the ten-time Pro Bowler isn’t on an expensive contract, and his trade value shouldn’t be too high as well.
The Raiders are projected to have around $92 million in cap space this offseason, per Over the Cap, meaning the team has enough money to acquire Rodgers and also address other needs.
Aaron Rodgers had an up-and-down 2024 campaign and only has a few seasons left in the NFL, but the future Hall of Famer would be a nice veteran bridge for Las Vegas and could be the missing piece that unlocks the Raiders offense.
