Steelers Now
The Las Vegas Raiders do not want to trade disgruntled wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, general manager John Spytek reiterated on Wednesday, and he asserted that the timing of the team’s addition of free agent wide receiver Amari Cooper was purely coincidental — throwing some cold water on trade speculation involving the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Meyers’ trade request after talks broke down between him and the team on a contract extension was made public on Monday. Just hours later, the Raiders had agreed to terms on a free agent contract with veteran Amari Cooper, bringing him back to the franchise that drafted him.
It sure seemed that Cooper was signed as possible bulwark against trading Meyer, with the Raiders’ wide receiver room not especially deep as it is.
Besides Meyers and Cooper, the Raiders have only Tre Tucker and a pair of rookies, second-round pick Jack Bech and fourth-round pick Dont’e Thornton.
But Spytek, in his first offseason as Raiders general manager, insisted that wasn’t the case.
“It may not look like that, but it was absolutely coincidence,” Spytek said. “We had been talking to Amari for a while, just making sure it was the right fit and we could work the right contract out.”
The Raiders have repeatedly reiterated that they do not want to trade Meyers, and their lack of depth at the wide receiver position shows why.
The Steelers have been in the market for another outside receiver since trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in May.
At least one team reached out to the Raiders about a Meyers trade, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week. That team asked for the Raiders to eat some of his $10.5 million contract, something that Spytek apparently is unwilling to consider. It certainly doesn’t sound as if the Raiders are trying to trade Meyers at this juncture.
The trade market for wide receivers appears to be drying up as teams have made their final cuts to 53 players, leaving the Steelers looking like they may not get the receiver they seek this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Raiders GM Throws Cold Water on Steelers WR Trade Speculation: ‘Absolutely Coincidence’
