Raiders are one blockbuster away from cashing in on Chiefs downfall

It has been a wayward few years (or decades) for the Las Vegas Raiders, who can't quite seem to figure this thing out. The hope is that the wisdom of Tom Brady, minority owner, can change that.

Brady's first move as owner and shadow GM was to hire John Spytek as the official GM, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers exec with a clear personal connection to Brady. The Raiders are clearly leaning on the seven-time Super Bowl champ to get the Raiders in shipshape.

Their next major addition was the hiring of Pete Carroll as head coach. As one of the few coaches to win the college football championship and a Super Bowl, nobody can deny Carroll's credentials. That said, he will turn 74 this upcoming season to become the oldest coach in NFL history. Considering where the Raiders are at in the team-building process, it's a strange fit.

Las Vegas has made clear its plans to build quickly around Carroll and to put a winner on the field. That's easier said than done, but Brady is not one to sit idly while his teams toil in mediocrity. He made winning his only objective as a player, and one has to think he brings a similar mentality to the ownership chair.

Now is the time for this Raiders squad to level up. The AFC West has been a bit lopsided in recent years, but the Kansas City Chiefs were just embarrassed in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs aren't going anywhere, but after squeaking out one-score wins all season, Kansas City sure does feel vulnerable. The right sequence of moves could put the Raiders in the mix, at the very least.

It starts with trading for a franchise quarterback.

Raiders should dial up Rams and swing a trade for Matthew Stafford

The Los Angeles Rams are approaching a full teardown. Cooper Kupp is officially on the trade block, and it feels like Matthew Stafford could follow him out the door. If Stafford is made available, he is Las Vegas' surest path to immediate improvement.

We can quibble with the unproven Raiders hiring a 73-year-old head coach and then trading for a 36-year-old quarterback on an hefty contract, but with how the QB market is shaping up these days, Stafford's $49.7 million cap hit next season feels almost reasonable. He continues to keep the Rams afloat in a competitive division, and Stafford came closer than any quarterback to knocking out the eventual champs from Philadelphia this postseason.

His age and longevity are concerns, but Stafford still has an incredible arm and an endlessly sharp brain. Few have ever processed the field better, and the Rams' signal-caller has the postseason experience to back up his immense talent. The Raiders are on an expedited timeline with Carroll coaching. Absent an elite rookie QB option on draft night, Las Vegas could decide to lean on Stafford's special blend of football IQ and creativity for a couple years, letting him retire in silver and black.

The Raiders would need to commit to filling out the roster around Stafford, but Las Vegas is hardly without in-house talent. The pass-catching corps already features a historically productive rookie in Brock Bowers, a fellow UGA product who'd benefit immensely from Stafford's presence. Meanwhile, Maxx Crosby and company should be able to turn this defense around in short order, especially with Carroll calling the shots.

It's hard to imagine the Raiders besting the Chiefs in 2025 — that is an incredibly tall task — but trading for Stafford would increase the feelings of legitimacy around this team more than Jimmy Garoppolo or Gardner Minshew ever could.