4 Raiders players the Detroit Lions could trade for if Las Vegas goes into sell-mode

For once, the Detroit Lions look to be buyers at the trade deadline. There aren't many holes on the roster, but there are some spots where an upgrade or better depth could be sought. But what team(s) could be on the other end of the spectrum as a trade deadline seller?

Another season, but it seems to be a lot of the same old stuff for the Las Vegas Raiders. They aren't winless, but a narrow win over the Denver Broncos in Week 1 doesn't look that good.

Josh McDaniels again looks like an incapable head coach, and two prominent players (Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs) have been open with their frustration. And the situation with the very troubled Chandler Jones was purely weird, culminating in his release when it probably could've been done sooner.

"Dysfunctional teams stay dysfunctional" applies to the Raiders perhaps more than any other NFL franchise. One way or several others, something is always happening to stand in the way of winning.

However coincidentally, the Lions will host the Raiders on Monday Night Football to close Week 8, the day before the trade deadline. So that could be a last-minute scouting opportunity, and lead to a Raiders' player not boarding the team flight back to Nevada.

Specifically, these Raiders' players could be of particular interest to the Lions between now and the trade deadline.

4 Raiders players who could interest the Detroit Lions if Las Vegas goes into sell-mode

4. WR DeAndre Carter

Carter has barely played any offensive snaps for the Raiders through four games this season, with two catches for 21 yards. But he has been active as a return man, relatively speaking as the NFL tries to eliminated those plays, and last season with the Chargers he had 46 receptions. In 2021 with Washington, he had 10 rushing attempts. So there's some multi-purpose appeal here.

When he has had the opportunity, Carter has shown some ability as a deep threat despite being small (5-foot-8). If the Raiders won't even try to use him, maybe the Lions would have a hint of interest and part with an inconsequential late-round pick.

3. CB Marcus Peters

After plenty of rumors and reports tying him to them, Peters finally signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Raiders in July. His best days are behind him at 30 years old (62.2 Pro Football Focus grade so far this season), but he remains an every snap player and he's a veteran some contending teams in need of cornerback help could see a fit with.

Peters also recently joined the unhappiness party in Las Vegas, liking an Instagram post that advocated for McDaniels to be fired. That's hardly something that could lead to a trade, but if the Raiders keep losing this month a player such as he, a little older and on a cheap one-year contract, would be a prime trade candidate.

The Lions' don't really need a cornerback, per se, as long as Emmanuel Moseley stays healthy and other key guys (Cameron Sutton, Jerry Jacobs) do as well. But there's also something to the idea of never having enough capable corners, and Moseley has not exactly been a picture or durability in his career. So as the coming weeks go on, Peters could be available and a solid fit in Detroit.

2. WR Davante Adams

Since Adams conveyed his frustration after the Raiders' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3, and it wasn't the first time he'd done so along that line in recent months, trade speculation has naturally swirled around him. The Lions have even landed on a couple lists of potential landing spots for him.

Adams is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. His contract, a five-year, $140 million he signed with the Raiders when they acquired him from the Green Bay Packers in 2022, is definitely a thing for any team that may have interest in acquiring him. But the guaranteed salary in the deal ends after 2024, and in 2025 there's a viable out. So below the surface of a big contract is just not that daunting in a certain light, and Adams has shown no signs of decline as he crosses into his 30's.

Trading for Adams would be plenty costly of course, probably at least one first-round pick among multiple (at least two) draft picks and maybe a player too. But for the Lions, in a show they mean business this year and next year for sure, could make that kind of all-in move and worry about the draft capital they gave up later.

1. DE Maxx Crosby

It appears Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports and I have seen some of the same sentiment from some Lions' fans. They want Maxx Crosby, with visions of pairing the Eastern Michigan product with Aidan Hutchinson and basically having the best pair of edge rushers in the league. And Crosby, in his fifth NFL season now, is just 26 years old.

There's also this conversation Crosby had with Penei Sewell that was captured at last year's Pro Bowl (h/t to Payton for the find).

The Raiders rightfully rewarded Crosby with a four-year, $94 million contract in March of 2022. If they traded him right now, or before the Oct. 31 deadline, barring a restructuring to change that, they'd absorb a $20.4 million dead money hit (according to Over The Cap). Under the current construction of the contract, it doesn't become overly palatable to trade him until next season-if they would even do so.

The Lions do have the cap space to take on Crosby's contract, which (like Adams') has no guaranteed salary in after 2024). But they do have some notable pay days on the horizon (Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Hutchinson, Jared Goff?).

If we know anything about Crosby, financial implications for the team aside, it's that he won't want to be traded by the Raiders and he surely won't ask to be dealt. Payton offered up a potential trade proposal though, even as he ultimately squashed Lions' fans' dreams.

• Lions get: Maxx Crosby and a 2024 6th round pick
• Raiders get: James Houston, 2024 1st round pick, 2024 third round pick from the Vikings and the 2025 4th round pick from the Eagles. 

Trading for Crosby would be a bold move for any team that might be thinking about it. Could the Lions do it before the deadline? The chances are very slim, but the NFL is a "never say never" business and nothing can every be 100 percent ruled out.