Silver Minings: Raiders could play international game in 2023

Now that it’s the offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders and the majority of the NFL, the league is starting to map out the 2023 schedule. Part of that includes announcing which teams will “host” next year’s international games as at least one game per year — sans 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic — has been played overseas since 2007.

The NFL announced yesterday that five teams will play across the pond next season; the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.

The Bills, Titans and Jaguars will head to London while the Chiefs and Patriots will play in Germany at locations that are to be determined. Munich and Frankfurt are the most-likely spots as the league confirmed those cities will be part of its plans to hold games in the country over the next four years. This past year, the Seattle Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in Munich for the NFL’s first-ever game in Deutschland.

How does this impact the Raiders? They’re set to play the Chiefs and Bills for an away game next year, so there’s a chance one of those two games could be the league’s pick for Kansas City’s or Buffalo’s international contest.

That being said, the NFL does tend to send games that feature teams from opposite conferences, and only five matchups have featured division rivals in the International series: New York Jets-Miami Dolphins (2015), Indianapolis Colts-Jaguars (2016), Arizona Cardinals-Los Angeles Rams (2017), Carolina Panthers-Buccaneers (2019) and San Francisco 49ers-Cardinals (2022).

For those curious, the Raiders are 2-3 in their five international games, the Bills are 0-1 and the Chiefs are 2-0.

In other Raiders links:

• Raiders’ partner partners with Tom Brady: according to Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune, the Wynn Las Vegas has announced a partnership with the soon-to-be free-agent quarterback. Does it mean something, or does it mean nothing????
• All-AFC West defense: who from Las Vegas made the cut and who got snubbed?
• Insider thinks Derek Carr can be traded: “If you’re another team, Carr is like the first QB on the market, and you can work on his contract with the Raiders and Carr’s agent without worrying about competing bids raising the price on the open market,” Vic Tafur of The Athletic wrote.
• Josh McDaniels reportedly wants a veteran QB: “Some executives who have had contact with Raiders coach Josh McDaniels believe he’s inclined to want a strong veteran around next season, not just a rookie passer,” Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post reported.