Raiders can quiet quarterback, trade talk only one way: Win

The Raiders are running out of room to separate what they want this season to be from what their performance says it is.They head to New York to face the Jets on Sunday carrying four consecutive losses, a losing record and questions that reach well beyond how to repair their running game or get a defensive stop.The next two weeks will help determine what kind of team they intend to be for the rest of the season.Buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?A team still committed to squeezing everything it can from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins or one ready to accelerate Fernando Mendoza’s development by handing the prized rookie the offense?An operation that stays the course with its current personnel or one that begins creating more opportunities for younger players?Those decisions are approaching quickly.And the Raiders have considerable say in how they get answered.Win some games and the conversation changes.Keep losing and asking everyone to believe in the current direction becomes increasingly difficult.That is the reality facing Klint Kubiak, whose team followed a promising 3-0 start with close losses to the Chiefs and Bills and humbling defeats against the Patriots and Rams.There were moments in those competitive losses that suggested the Raiders could stand alongside quality opponents.

There were long stretches in the other two that exposed how much work remains.Now comes a trip to face the Jets, followed by another road game against the 49ers.The Nov.

10 trade deadline arrives two days after the latter.At 5-4, the Raiders could make a reasonable case for finding help that supports a second-half push.At 3-6, the argument for prioritizing future assets and player evaluation becomes considerably stronger.A split would leave them somewhere in between, weighing the quality of their play against the mathematics of staying relevant.None of those records would automatically dictate a trade or quarterback change.

But they would change the questions general manager...