Schefter says Raiders aren't trading players; Powers-Johnson plays zero snaps

The Raiders enter deadline week with a buyer's posture and a seller's roster, and ESPN's Adam Schefter says the front office has picked a side. Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter said the Raiders are "not looking to trade their players" and that "they feel like they're building something," as Raiders Beat relayed. The deadline lands November 10, the Tuesday after this week's game.

Sunday's 38-33 win at the Jets is what bought that posture. Las Vegas is 4-4, ninth in the AFC, and Just Blog Baby pegs John Spytek's options as buy, sell or stand pat with no obvious winner among them. The team's own numbers desk notes 221 points through eight games, the most since 2002, plus a 95-yard Dylan Laube kickoff return that was the first by a Raider since Jacoby Ford in 2011 and the first in the league this season.

Kirk Cousins is the asset everyone wants priced and the one Schefter was most direct about. "Kirk Cousins is leading the NFL in touchdown passes. They're not going to trade that guy," he said, adding that he does not see Cousins as an option and that the veteran is a useful example for rookie Fernando Mendoza. Cousins threw for 247 yards and three scores Sunday and ran in a fourth. Nineteen touchdown passes through eight games is third in franchise history behind Daryle Lamonica and Derek Carr.

The one line item that still looks movable is Jackson Powers-Johnson. He played zero snaps against the Jets, per Raiders Beat, and former Raiders tackle Lincoln Kennedy said on Locked on Raiders that "I think JPJ wants out. I think he wants away from the Raiders," while acknowledging he was reading body language rather than reporting a request. The team has said nothing.

Opinion, clearly labeled: a 4-4 team that has not beaten anyone good should not spend future picks on a rental, and an interior lineman who cannot get on the field should return something before his rookie deal runs out. Those two things are not in conflict.

Watch the 49ers on Sunday first. The deadline closes two days later, and a loss in Santa Clara would reopen every question Schefter just closed.