The Raiders may be looking to move on from one of their prized young tight ends.
Las Vegas is “trying” to trade Michael Mayer and and there “plenty of teams are interested,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Las Vegas invested heavily into Mayer, using the 35th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft to take him out of Notre Dame.
Just a year later, the Raiders selected tight end Brock Bowers from Georgia with the No. 13 pick — creating a tight end duo with sky-high potential.
But Bowers wound up being essentially an every-down stud, while Mayer took a backseat.
Mayer also notably missed six games this past season due to personal reasons that are still yet to be elaborated upon.
“The No. 1 important rule is that football’s not bigger than life. It isn’t and it never has been, at least for me. I just needed to figure some things out. That’s what I did and I’m on my feet again,” Mayer said when he returned in November from his mysterious absence.
Prior to his absence, he had tallied four catches for 21 yards in the Raiders’ first three games of the season. Upon returning, he raised his season stats to 21 catches for 156 yards.
In his rookie year, he brought in 27 receptions for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games.
After dealing with his personal matters this past season, Mayer had nothing but kind words for the Raiders organization, saying, “I couldn’t ask for a better organization, a better support system.”
Mayer will look to find the same type of home if he does wind up being shipped to another team.
While Mayer hasn’t produced much at the NFL level, he’s still just 23 years old and was an All-American for the Fighting Irish three years ago.
Mayer racked up more than 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in his three collegiate seasons and remains an enticing piece entering his third year in the NFL.
