It’s the little traditions that make covering football so much fun.
On Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN said that everyone on the Raiders roster was available for a trade. By one estimation, this was either the third or fourth consecutive year we’ve heard a version of this report.
It was only a matter of time, then, before the Raiders shot down Schefter publicly as a rumor mongerer. Their 17-9 loss to the 49ers probably left the team too depressed to post an official statement on the team’s website, so a few front office executives “scoffed” about the report to the Contra Costa Times instead.
“Does [Schefter] really think that we would trade Nnamdi [Asomugha], Richard [Seymour], Rolando [McClain] or either of our running backs? You do that math on that one,” the anonymous exec told Steve Corkran.
So just in case any teams out there are interested, let’s be clear: The 31-year-old defensive tackle making $12.398 million on the 31st-ranked rush defense is not available. Carry on.