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The Las Vegas Raiders are on the hunt to replace former tight end Darren Waller.
Last week, the Raiders traded Waller to the NY Giants for only a third-round pick.
Via ESPN
The New York Giants are acquiring tight end Darren Waller in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Giants will send a third-round draft pick (No. 100 overall) to the Raiders for Waller, a 2020 Pro Bowler who will provide quarterback Daniel Jones with an established veteran target in the passing game.
Reports claim that the Waller move was more of a cost-cutting measure to clear up cap space.
The #Raiders immediately clear $11.38M in cap space and incur just $660K in dead money by moving on from Waller. That'll put them around $27M in active cap space. https://t.co/ugFGi4PD5D
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) March 14, 2023
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders are now hosting former first-round pick O.J. Howard on Monday to fill the void in the tight end position with Waller gone.
A possible Darren Waller replacement? Sources say the #Raiders are hosting former first-round TE OJ Howard, a pass-catcher who can help stretch the defense. The former #Bucs pick had 10 starts for the #Texans last year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2023
The 28-year-old Howard was drafted by the Buc with the 19th overall pick in 2017. Howard played for the Texans last year and produced a career-low 10 catches, with 145 yards and two touchdowns.
There’s still a possibility the Raiders draft another tight end in the upcoming NFL draft, but the veteran Howard would be a welcome pick-up.