Star power doesn’t always equal success. The Las Vegas Raiders must avoid making a costly mistake by pursuing these three veteran wide receivers.
Las Vegas does not have a receiver problem. No, it has a patience problem (as does Raider Nation).
The temptation to add a veteran wide receiver this summer is understandable. The Raiders’ current depth chart is thin, Fernando Mendoza is an unproven commodity at quarterback, and fan bases are wired to equate activity with progress. But general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak did not take the No. 1 overall pick to accelerate a timeline. They took it to start one.
The Raiders don’t need a diva screwing things up…
The above statement matters, and it should govern every personnel decision made between now and September.
The names attached to these rumors, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, and Deebo Samuel, are not solutions. They are complications dressed in familiar jerseys.
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Hill arrives with an active NFL personal conduct investigation following serious domestic violence allegations detailed in sealed court documents obtained by multiple news outlets. He is 32, coming off knee surgery, and his prior history with the league’s discipline process provides no comfort that he will be available Week 1. The circus that follows Hill would consume every Kubiak press conference before the season even begins.
New England released Diggs, also 32, this offseason after a felony strangulation charge that ultimately closed due to insufficient evidence. The legal cloud may have lifted. The football concerns have not. He remains unsigned in late June, which tells its own story.
Samuel is 30, has topped 865 yards from scrimmage just once in his last four seasons, and has missed games in seven consecutive years. His Washington numbers were inflated by circumstance.
The Raiders have Brock Bowers, one of the game’s elite tight ends. They have Ashton Jeanty to establish a ground identity. They have Kirk Cousins as a responsible bridge. That is a workable infrastructure for a young quarterback learning to operate in the NFL.
Mendoza needs repetitions, structure, and a coherent system. None of the available veteran receivers provide that. All three would actively undermine it.
Wide receiver is a problem for 2027. This front office should have the discipline to treat it that way.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images
Unless bech is gonna stepup we need a x wr Samuel or hill. All good wr are divas