Oakland Raiders: Ezekiel Ansah from Lions for 2nd Round pick
Ansah and the Lions did not reach agreement on a long-term deal last offseason, so he is playing this season on the franchise tag. He also suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1 and missed three games, after offseason knee surgery, so durability is a concern.
Ansah has shown he can be a difference-making pass rusher, with seasons of 14.5 (2015) and 12 sacks (2017) on his resume. But consistency is the issue, with nine of last year’s 12 sacks coming in just three games and nine games with two or more sacks in his career.
The Raiders and Jon Gruden didn’t want to pay Khalil Mack what wound being a record-setting long-term deal from the Bears, so they traded him. Gruden hasn’t been able dodge questions about Mack and Oakland’s lack of pass rush in his absence, or avoid making a dumb comment about one or both topics on seemingly an alternating basis.
Trading for Ansah does not come with a financial commitment beyond this year, which would surely appeal greatly to Gruden. And if the former top-five overall pick is healthy, the Raiders’ pass rush will get a spark it desperately needs over the remainder of this season.