nfl

Las Vegas Raiders named possible trade partner for veteran cornerback

08-15-2024
3 min read
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders' starting defense looks to be set ahead of a season in which the unit has the potential to be elite. However, there remains a big question mark at one of the starting spots.

That spot is none other than the No. 2 cornerback role, which is currently set to be filled by second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett. While Bennett has had a strong offseason, he remains a big question mark after a dreadful rookie campaign.

With that in mind, it's not outlandish to think that the Raiders could make a move to give themselves a more sure thing at the position.

CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin named 10 players around the NFL who could get traded ahead of the 2024 campaign and listed Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry as one of them. He also named the Raiders as a potential fit.

The former All-Pro was a hit for the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl-contending secondary in 2022, only to fall off a cliff as a perimeter cover man a year later. Since then, Bradberry has taken a switch to safety in stride, and suddenly feels like a decent bet to crack the Birds' lineup as veteran insurance on the back end. Still, if the Eagles find themselves a taker in exchange for depth at another position, they'd probably consider it after injecting youth into the secondary via the draft.

Potential fits: Cardinals, Raiders, Vikings

While Bradberry has moved to safety in Philly, he would go back to cornerback in Las Vegas, seeing as how the Raiders already have a solid starting duo there. But that versatility would also give Las Vegas some insurance at another position.

Bradberry is coming off a lackluster 2023 campaign, but it was still better than what Bennett put out there. It remains to be seen if Bennett will be better in his second season, but right now Bradberry is the better option on paper.

It remains to be seen if Philly would even deal him, and chances are the Raiders are going to stick with Bennett to see what they have. But if general manager Tom Telesco wants to add more help, he could do worse than Bradberry.