The Las Vegas Raiders have made a move at the wide receiver position that could signal a Jakobi Meyers trade is imminent.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Raiders are signing wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who was recently cut loose by the Tennessee Titans.
“Veteran WR Tyler Lockett is signing with the Raiders today, per sources,” he reported. “It’s a reunion for Lockett and Geno Smith, who connected plenty in Seattle and now are teaming up again under Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.”
A former third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2015, Lockett played under Carroll from 2015-23 and caught passes from Smith in Seattle from 2020-24.
Lockett is in the midst of the worst season of his career with just 10 receptions for 70 yards through seven games. While Lockett has been on the decline for a few years now, it’s also worth noting we was stuck in a terrible offense in Tennessee.
Nevertheless, the addition of a veteran wide receiver might be a sign a Meyers trade is coming.
Granted, Lockett wouldn’t be able to replace Meyers completely, but he does offer a much-needed body if Las Vegas parts with its best wideout.
Adding to that, signing Lockett and keeping Meyers creates a scenario where Las Vegas’ rookie wideouts, Dont’e Thornton and/or Jack Bech, could lose snaps. We can’t imagine a 2-5 Raiders team doing something that destructive when it desperately needs to evaluate those young players the rest of the way.
Meyers has been looking for a trade from the Raiders since the offseason, when he didn’t get the contract extension he was looking for. Meyers said recently he still wants to be traded.
Despite being a clear trade candidate, there is fear from Raiders fans that Las Vegas will ultimately hold on to Meyers for the rest of the season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter fueled that concern, saying the Raiders are willing to keep the veteran receiver if they don’t get “strong value in return” for his services.
That would, of course, be a colossal mistake. Meyers is almost certainly walking out the door in 2026 after the Raiders didn’t oblige his extension request and Las Vegas can’t squander an opportunity to bring in more draft capital.
Also in Schefter’s report, he lists the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers as the three teams most aggressively looking for wide receiver help, so all three are potential suitors for Meyers and Las Vegas potentially positioning for a Meyers trade is good news for them.
Buffalo just isn’t getting what it expected out of its group and lacks a No. 1 wide receiver. Pittsburgh needs an adequate No. 2 and more depth overall, and the Broncos could use another veteran pass-catcher in their young group.
We’ll see if any of the three can come away with what would be a massive upgrade in Meyers before the Nov. 4 trade deadline passes.
