The Las Vegas Raiders made a controversial decision when they decided to cut Trent Sieg. Now, as a long snapper, he doesn’t see the field often, but in the locker room, there was a level of love his teammates had for him. Raiders special team’s coach Tom McMahon commented on the team’s decision to cut Sieg as Vegas prepares for the 2023 NFL season. Another aspect of Vegas’ preparations is who will be the quarterback as Jimmy Garoppolo recovers from offseason foot surgery. As a result, a trade could be in order, and one candidate is current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold.
An explanation for the Raiders cutting Trent Sieg
Vegas saw several mainstay leaders for the franchise leave in the offseason, as former team captains Derek Carr, Darren Waller and Mack Hollins will all be playing for new teams this season.
However, one cut did cause a stir which was the decision to move off from Sieg. The long snapper strongly connected with punter A.J. Cole and kicker Daniel Carlson. Nonetheless, once the Raiders signed former Denver Broncos long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, the writing was on the wall for Sieg.
McMahon explained why the franchise decided to make a change at long snapper while speaking to reporters on June 8th during OTAs.
Trent did a great job here,” McMahon said. “He did great for this organization. He’s a great person, great teammate, and really what it came down to is it’s just a decision that we made within that unit. But in terms of who he is and what he’s done here, I just want one thing to be said; he did a great job in this organization as a teammate and a person, and we decided to make that move.”
“It’s one of those things where from a business side and from an operation side, we decided to go with a different player.”
Is Sam Darnold an option for the Raiders at QB?
Garoppolo had surgery on his injured left foot after signing a free agent contract with Vegas. However, his deal does require the veteran signal-caller to pass a physical. If Garoppolo cannot pass and cannot start Week 1, the Raiders need to look at other options.
Recently, a source told Heavy.com’s Matt Lombardo that the Raiders should look into trading for Darnold. The former No. 3 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft has shown he can play in the league despite bouncing around from the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers and now with the 49ers.
“I’d trade for Sam Darnold today,” an NFL offensive coach told Heavy. “They have big issues out there, because they don’t have money to make a big trade. Especially when you’re talking about a quarterback.”
If Brock Purdy and Trey Lance are ready to go with both coming off serious injuries, San Francisco could be open to the idea of trading Darnold. Let’s face it, Darnold appears to be more of an insurance policy these days.
*Top Photo: Mark J Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports