Oakland Raiders starting to lean towards a Khalil Mack decision

Aaron Donald’s impasse in Los Angeles is finally nearing an. This naturally has turned attention towards the Oakland Raiders and their own situation.

What are they going to do about Khalil Mack? The Rams had stated from the outset that they were going to get a Donald deal done. Nothing else was being entertained. It was merely a matter of time and discussing the numbers. Until then Donald would stay away. Mack has taken the same approach, but the results are decidedly different. Oakland has remained completely silent on what exactly their intentions are for the former Defensive Player of the Year.

A big reason for this is their uncertain front office situation. Reggie McKenzie is still the general manager, but he lost his say over the roster to new head coach Jon Gruden. That new part of the formula has completely shelved negotiations. Reports have surfaced that communication between him and Mack is almost nonexistent. This puts the idea of a new contract far out of sight and instead given rise to another rumor.

Would the Raiders dare trade their best defensive player?

Oakland may be steadily drifting towards the idea of trading Mack

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It sounds incredible to think about. Mack is one of the two or three best defensive players in football. He’s never missed a game in his career and has at least 10 sacks in each of the past three seasons. Teams don’t just let talents like that go. It would appear the Raiders are flirting with the idea of being an exception according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

"“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Raiders haven’t slammed the door on the possibility of trading the 2016 defensive player of the year. That said, the Raiders are being coy with the teams that have inquired.Recent reports have indicated as many as a dozen teams kicking tires on a possible trade. Four teams, we’re told, are exploring the possibility very seriously.”"

No doubt the Raiders are aiming to get a king’s ransom in return for Mack. Probably somewhere in the vicinity of two 1st round picks. As great as Mack is, that’s still a high price. He’s 27-years old and will also demand that expensive new contract in addition to the picks. So any team making the deal would give up a lot in both draft currency and salary cap space.

Is he worth it? That depends on who you ask but talents like Mack almost never become available. He’s the type of player who can change the landscape of a defense the moment he steps on the field. Guys like that never come cheap. It comes down to whether a team is willing to push their chips to the middle of the table. By the sound of it, there are plenty at least considering it.

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