Granted, in every trade, winners, losers, and blame need placing. When the Raiders traded Khalil Mack to the Bears, questions, disbelief and anger resonated through the football universe. First, how did the talented pass rusher end up in Chicago? Most importantly, who should take responsibility for it? To answer the latter, FPC Raiders writers Aspuria, Berry and Biggs try to figure out where the onus should sit.
Ray Aspuria
All parties. Reports say Mack did not return overtures from Gruden. Moreover, Gruden’s ego would not allow him to do more than what he did to contact Mack. All parties did what they felt is best for their business. Segal reportedly wanted a deal, in excess of what Aaron Donald got. In addition, that is his job. Gruden did not believe paying Mack that kind of money would help fix the defense. There is no one single individual taking the blame on this.
In the words of Jeff Garcia, “Jon Gruden likes to date players, not marry them”
Never commits to big talent (esp QBs) because big contracts are admitting they are good.
An admittance that they are good means he forfeits the “we need the right guy” excuse when team starts losing
— Andrew Hawkins (@Hawk) September 1, 2018
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Kenneth Berry
This is entirely the fault of Mark Davis, John Gruden, & Reggie McKenzie. The Mack contract should have always took priority over Derek Carr. They chose to pay Carr & now have issues all over their offense. They lost all their star power on defense and respect with Mack gone. Gruden did not respect Mack from the moment he took over & has made several disrespectful comments regarding Mack.
Terrance Biggs
In all honesty, Reggie McKenzie is the only member of the management trio that can cleanly walk away. When Mark Davis bestowed Thanos-like power upon Jon Gruden that set a scary precedent. Plus, coaches that sit in the booth for a decade should not command nine-figure contracts. Yet, ever the thirsty owner, Mark Davis destroyed the market for Gruden by overpaying. As a result, when Gruden assumed control, Mack fell into his purview. However, through zero communication, Mack forced the Raiders to move him. In reality, you cannot blame Khalil Mack for any of this. As a result,, the Raiders needed to reach certain numbers. In Gruden’s mind, that number was not attainable. For those wanting to understand Jon Gruden, this tweet sums him up.