Raiders called Bears ahead of free agency to ask about Khalil Mack reunion – The Athletic



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Jon Gruden wants to win, and there have been times in the past three non-winning seasons where the Raiders coach has been clearly miserable. He himself said he cried for three days after trading former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack just before the start of his comeback season in 2018.

The Raiders have been in dire need of a proven sleight of hand since trading Mack to the Chicago Bears nearly three years ago and when free agency opened in March, they targeted and predicted. to sign Yannick Ngakoue.

But before they did, they made a phone call, league sources said.

Would the Bears be interested in trading Mack for the Raiders?

The Bears had significant salary cap issues – which forced them to release All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller and restructure several contracts – and the Raiders thought it was worth it. The Bears weren’t interested, sources said, and the Raiders went ahead and signed Ngakoue to a two-year, $ 26 million contract.

Raiders officials have not commented, as they do not talk about the trade offers given or received, not even the most interesting.

Gruden faced a media backlash when he traded Mack for a bunch of draft picks, including two first-round picks, nine days before the 2018 season opener, and that says a lot about his vision. in the tunnel for the playoffs that he wouldn’t care what people would say he was trading to buy Mack out.



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