What if the Raiders Can't Get Shedeur Sanders?

What will the Las Vegas Raiders do if they are unable to land Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft?

Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) warms up during the 4th quarter between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders snapped their losing streak on Sunday, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 19-14.

Here's the problem: the Raiders may have just torpedoed their NFL Draft stock in the process.

Heading into Week 16, Las Vegas stood a great chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick. However, now, the New York Giants jumped into sole possession of that spot, and Las Vegas' status plummeted thanks to its win over the Jaguars.

Could this ultimately mean that the Raiders' dreams of bagging Shedeur Sanders have been squashed?

There has been a lot of chatter about Sanders attempting to force his way to Las Vegas, but Deion Sanders has already said that he has no preference for where his son plays.

Of course, we won't know for sure until April, but it's beginning to look like the Raiders may have to look elsewhere this spring.

There will definitely be other quarterbacks available. As a matter of fact, some feel that Miami Hurricanes product Cam Ward is actually the best signal-caller in this draft.

But Las Vegas seemed to have its hopes set on Sanders.

That begs the question: what will the Raiders do if they ultimately can't land Sanders? Will they pivot to another quarterback in the draft? Will they try and sign one in free agency prior to it? Maybe they'll find a shrewd trade somewhere?

Or maybe they'll even consider rolling with Aidan O'Connell?

The chances of the latter happening are pretty unlikely, considering that Las Vegas didn't even think enough of O'Connell to start him over Gardner Minshew heading into 2024.

Realistically speaking, the Raiders genuinely may not know what their plan will be if their draft pick falls far enough where they won't be able to have a shot at Sanders.

It definitely feels on brand for a franchise that hasn't exactly been blessed with the best luck over the past couple of decades. Rag on poor management all you want, but sometimes, teams catch breaks. Las Vegas can't seem to find any.

The Raiders' entire mission this coming spring will be to find a franchise quarterback. For a while, we all though it would be Shedeur.

Now, thanks to a meaningless win over the Jaguars, we don't know what will become of Las Vegas going into 2025.

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