Sportsnaut
The noise is getting louder. Reports are swirling that the Las Vegas Raiders could look to add a veteran wide receiver this summer, with Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs and Deebo Samuel among the names getting floated. It’s the kind of headline that makes fans scroll and click.
It’s also exactly the wrong idea.
John Spytek and Klint Kubiak are in Year One of building this roster around Fernando Mendoza. The No. 1 overall pick is the entire point. Everything in this organization right now should be pointed in one direction and throwing cap money and locker room oxygen at aging, baggage-laden receivers runs directly counter to that. You don’t develop a franchise quarterback by surrounding him with chaos. You don’t rebuild by recycling someone else’s problems.
Let’s go through each name, because none of them deserve a pass here.
Also Read:: Las Vegas Raiders Will Not Rush Fernando Mendoza and That’s the Right Call
Tyreek Hill is the most obvious non-starter. The NFL is currently investigating him under the personal conduct policy after his estranged wife, Keeta Vaccaro, alleged eight separate incidents of domestic violence in divorce filings, including incidents that reportedly occurred while she was pregnant. Those allegations became public after six news outlets fought to unseal the court documents, and what came out was ugly. Hill has denied everything and his attorneys have called the claims a shakedown, but this is his third known domestic violence allegation. He pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation back in 2015. The NFL cleared him then, and in 2019, and each time he kept playing. There is no guarantee he will avoid a suspension in 2026 while this investigation is still unresolved.
Even setting aside the conduct issues entirely, Hill is 32, coming off a season-ending knee injury and carries a contract number that Miami wouldn’t pay. The Raiders would be bringing in a receiver who might not be available in Week 1, who comes with a circus that would swallow every press conference Kubiak holds, and who adds exactly zero to Fernando Mendoza’s development. Mendoza needs structure and stability in Year One. Hill is neither of those things.
Stefon Diggs is being painted as the cleaner option, but he has his own problems. He’s 32 and turns 33 in November, was released by New England in March after the Patriots decided his $20.6 million base salary wasn’t worth it, and entered this offseason facing felony strangulation charges stemming from an alleged incident with his personal chef. The NFL closed its investigation for insufficient evidence, and Diggs was not convicted, so the legal cloud has technically lifted. That’s relevant. But every team with a receiver needs this offseason to look at Diggs and pass. There is a reason he is still sitting at home in late June, and it...
