The NFL trade deadline is Tues. Oct. 29 and the Oakland Raiders may be willing to part ways with one of their best players on the offensive side of the football.
It’s no secret up to this point in the 2013 NFL season that running back Darren McFadden hasn’t made good on his promise to prove his worth to the Raiders franchise. McFadden made it clear that he intended to earn a new long-term contract with the Raiders, but continues to struggle to stay healthy and hasn’t been all that effective on the field when able to play.
One team currently on the lookout for a new blood at the running back position is the Dallas Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones has a soft spot for McFadden ever since his college days at Arkansas which happens to be Jones’ alma mater. McFadden was at the top of the Cowboys’ draft board back in 2008 with Jones hoping to land him in the draft.
Unfortunately for Dallas, the Raiders didn’t let McFadden fall beyond the 4th overall pick resulting in the Cowboys selecting Felix Jones, McFadden’s backup at Arkansas, with the 22nd pick.
According to Pro Football Talk, Jones may make a play for McFadden before the trade deadline with DeMarco Murray simply not panning out in Dallas:
McFadden’s name is the most intriguing of the bunch. He played at Jerry Jones’ alma mater, and there was plenty of speculation in 2008 that Jones would trade up to pick the former Razorback, who reportedly was the No. 1 pick on the Dallas draft board that year. (The Cowboys instead stayed up and took Arkansas teammate Felix Jones.)
With McFadden in the final year of his deal with the Raiders, the team may be open to getting a deal done before the deadline. Oakland currently has Marcel Reece and Rashad Jennings who can shoulder the load at running back for the rest of the season essentially making McFadden expendable and a likely candidate to be traded by Tuesday’s deadline.
A player like McFadden may need nothing more than a change of scenery to turn things around and that’s likely what the Cowboys will be banking on if able to pull off a trade for the back. Although McFadden is considered a top tier back in the NFL when healthy, the veteran hasn’t been able to stay on the field consistently resulting in many people in Oakland already labeling him as yet another draft bust for the Raiders.
Ironically enough, if McFadden is dealt to Oakland it won’t be long before he plays his former team. The Raiders will face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
As for other trade rumors involving the Raiders, Oakland may be interested in acquiring wide receiver Hakeem Nicks from the New York Giants. Denarius Moore and Rod Streater have the makings of building a solid receiving corps in Oakland for Terrelle Pryor, but adding Nicks would definitely improve the passing game for the Raiders.
