Bengals given incredible trade opportunity thanks to Raiders trade block

Posted by author March 1, 2025 Sports

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The Cincinnati Bengals might want to pick up the phone and give the Las Vegas Raiders a call.

Those Raiders are in rebuilding mode and, as such, might be willing to move on from valuable assets for the right price.

Apparently, one asset might be tight end Michael Mayer, as reported by The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed:

“Mayer will be on a team-friendly rookie contract for two more seasons and there are several teams who thought highly of him as a prospect. With Bowers in tow, it could make more sense for the Raiders to trade Mayer for assets rather than having him locked into a relatively small role.”

Mayer was a favorite of Bengals fans ahead of the 2023 NFL draft and likely pretty high on Cincinnati’s internal draft board. Solid 6’4″ prospects who can line up all over formations and serve as a strong receiving option tend to do that.

But Mayer has fallen out of favor quickly with the Raiders, catching just 27 passes as a rookie and missing six games in 2024. The Raiders took the best player available with Brock Bowers last year, who turned out to be an All-Pro.

The Bengals want Mike Gesicki back, yet his trip to free agency could balloon his asking price too much, especially while the Bengals try to focus on extensions for Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson.

Mayer, then, might be an intriguing option on his rookie deal — and one has to imagine things would pan out better for him in an offense with Joe Burrow.

Maybe Mayer wouldn’t be the only attempted solution by the Bengals at the position if they made a trade, but it’s certainly an option worth considering.