The Las Vegas Raiders, along with the rest of the AFC West teams not name the Kansas City Chiefs, are reloading this season.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are projected to win the division once again as a mere stepping stone to their biggest question of whether they can win the Super Bowl for a third straight year.
While the Raiders are likely to lose the division once again, it won’t be an uneventful season for the franchise. Here are three bold predictions for the team from Las Vegas.
1. Gardner Minshew II wins starting job
Davante Adams has said recently that he believed Aidan O’Connell to be in first place in the ongoing quarterback competition. However, the Raiders didn’t pick up Gardner Minshew to leave him on the bench.
Minshew has a two-year, $25 million contract with the team. Put simply, the Raiders paid him above-average backup quarterback money for a reason.
2. Davante Adams gets traded midseason
Speaking of Adams, the wide receiver turns 32 this year. With many already speculating about the receiver’s exit, the franchise pulls the trigger at the trade deadline. By this point in the season, Antonio Pierce’s first unquestioned stint as the leader won’t be going well. As such, the team will elect to move on from Adams and get some draft capital out of his exit.
3. Mark Davis replaces Antonio Pierce with Bill Belichick
The Raiders owner has pulled the trigger on moving away from Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels in back-to-back tenures. Ergo, Pierce is far from safe.
Per The Las Vegas Review-Journal, bankruptcy looms over the Pierce family at home. The bankruptcy will distract the head coach just enough to make him unable to elevate a franchise stuck on the wrong side of .500.
Davis, with a history of not wasting time in moving on, decides to start his next coaching search early. Considering the previous Patriots connection with the last two head coaches, getting the head of the coaching tree would be a massive step up for the franchise.
With Bill Belichick still available as a media member, the Raiders will hire im before the end of the season in a Jeff Saturday-like twist. This sets up a shocking conclusion to an otherwise difficult year for Raiders fans.
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