Raiders Have Traded Khalil Mack and I’m Beside Myself

Ok Raiders fans, you’re gonna have to forgive me for what I’m about to write. I’m on vacation, it’s 5:03 a.m. and I just woke up to find out that Khalil Mack has been traded. I wasn’t going to write anything yet because I’m so dumbfounded but I felt like I needed to say something, so here we are.

We don’t even know the full details of the trade aside from the fact that it includes two first-round picks. There is supposed to be more to the deal but we have not yet heard what else the Raiders will get from the Chicago Bears.

What we do know is that no matter what else the Raiders get in that trade, it’s going to be VERY difficult for them to get the full value out of any deal for Khalil Mack. Why? Because a major portion of the trade value, draft picks, are a HUGE unknown. The Raiders could end up with another generational talent (unlikely) or they could end up with two absolute busts.

Only time will tell how well the Raiders did on this trade, but again, it’s hard to see this thing turning out to be the right move for the Silver and Black.

And that means this is Jon Gruden’s first major mistake as Raiders Czar.

I don’t know what Gruden was thinking. Whether it was because he was concerned about that much cap space going to two players or if he let his ego get in the way and could not allow himself to be seen as blinking in the stare down that was the Mack holdout. But whatever the reason Gruden made this deal, it was a bad idea.

Like I said, it’s 5am and I’m pretty out of it so my thoughts are all over the place, but the one thought that keeps coming back to me over and over again is “this is a huge mistake.”

The Raiders are finally preparing to field a good defense with a very good defensive coordinator and they won’t even get a chance to see Khalil Mack perform under good circumstances. The guy dominated while being surrounded by untalented teammates and horrific coaches. And just when we thought we’d finally get to see what Mack could do with help around him, poof, he’s gone.

I’ll have more to say next week, but for now, just know that in my opinion, we’ve just witnessed the first, and hopefully last, major mistake of the Jon Gruden era.