The NFL trade deadline has passed and there are no saviors headed the Oakland Raiders' way, nor did any charitable team agree to take any high-priced players off the winless team’s hands.
It was not surprising the Raiders didn’t make a move. NFL deadline deals are rare, and there was really no reason for the 0-7 Raiders to add anyone. No one is going to make a huge difference at this point and the Raiders, in total rebuild mode, need to hold onto every draft pick possible.
That’s why the talk of Oakland trading for Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch was ridiculous. There was no way the Raiders would have done it. Perhaps down the road Lynch could play in his hometown of Oakland. But there was no way it was going to happen in a trade Tuesday.
There were reports that Oakland would be willing to trade defensive end Justin Tuck, as non-contending teams are often willing to trade high-producing veterans. But the market clearly never developed.
It’s fine that the Raiders kept Tuck. He is a decent player and strong in the locker room. There’s no guarantees Tuck is around next season, but for now, keeping him around certainly won’t hurt the Raiders.
In the end, it was just another quiet NFL deadline, with the only noise being false pre-deadline chatter.
Note: The Raiders cut rookie Bojay Filimoeatu. The Raiders have not filled the spot on the 53-man roster yet. Filimoeatu, an undrafted free agent, could go back to the practice squad.
