Getty Images Jon Gruden
Over the past year or so, Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has provided plenty of buzz-worthy quotes. But his recent comments about the team’s trade of star pass-rusher Khalil Mack may be the most brutally honest yet. While the Raiders received a huge haul in exchange for Mack, the coach couldn’t deny how much the deal hurt him.
Gruden was asked about the trade and was open and honest about it, as The Athletic’s Vic Tafur revealed.
Gruden said he “cried for 3 days after trading Mack. But we’re not able to get Antonio Brown, Trent Brown and Lamarcus Joyner without making that trade.” Tafur tweeted.
While the whole “honest” comment above on Gruden’s statement doesn’t necessarily stand true about him crying, it’s hard to imagine that he wasn’t upset about losing Mack. But he’s also not entirely wrong about the fact that the additions of wide receiver Antonio Brown, offensive tackle Trent Brown and safety Lamarcus Joyner were all possible because of it.
There’s surely an avenue where the Raiders likely could have made everything work, but there’s also still a major concern about the team’s pass-rush as well currently.
What Raiders Received in Khalil Mack Trade
Not surprisingly, the terms of the trade with the Chicago Bears for Mack were nothing short of incredible. The Raiders brought in a plethora of picks, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported. Here’s a look at the overall trade terms:
- Bears receive: Khalil Mack, 2020 second-round pick, conditional 2020 fifth-round pick
- Raiders receive: 2019 first-round pick, 2020 first-round pick, 2020 third-round pick, 2019 sixth-round pick
As Tankathon shows, the first-round pick this year wound up as the No. 24 selection from the Bears. The Raiders also picked up another first-rounder (No. 27) from the Dallas Cowboys in the midseason trade of Amari Cooper.
Raiders Give Big Money to Offseason Acquisitions
The wild stretch of signings and trades began with the made to acquire the former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout in Brown. And as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, the team added $30.125 million in guaranteed money to his deal. Beyond that, they gave massive guarantees to a number of other players.
This included $36.75 million in guarantees to Trent Brown, $21.3 million to Joyner and $22 million guaranteed to former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams, all per Spotrac. Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock have made a few other additions along with these big names, but the Raiders have shown they’re ready and willing to spend in order to right the ship.
Whether these moves lead to immediate success during the 2019 season will be the big question, but you have to at least like the upside of the new-look Raiders. At the very least, Oakland should be able to improve on their 4-12 record from last year.
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