Who Won the Khalil Mack Trade?

by
Former Writers
September 2, 2018

Iain Gibson via Flickr

Who Won the Khalil Mack Trade?

The great Mia Hamm once said, “the person that said winning isn’t everything, never won anything.” Which perfectly explains why every trade must be dissected to decide which owner “got one over” on the other. The trade details are as followed: In exchange for 2019 & 2020 first-round picks, a 2020 third-round pick, and a 2019 sixth-round pick, the Chicago Bears received Khalil Mack, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2020 fifth-round pick. The Bears had an edge over other teams willing to trade for Mack because they could cover the asking price. So, who won the Khalil Mack trade?

I don’t doubt Khalil Mack for one second. He’s a brilliant player. But there is no one in the NFL that isn’t a quarterback who is worth two first round picks and $90M. #Bears #Raiders

— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) September 2, 2018

The Inevitable

According to USA Today, the Raiders simply lacked the “on-hand” cash to give to Mack in the event that they were to re-sign him. The Raiders had enough cap space to re-sign the generationally talented Mack. However, Mark Davis may not have had the funds to fork over Mack’s signing bonus due to equity already involved in the Las Vegas relocation. This led Mack being placed on the trade block. Once word got out that Oakland wasn’t “having a conversation about Mack” unless two first-rounders were offered, it was assumed that the asking price was too high, given the fact that the team would also have to pay Mack a $20+ million per-year deal. Insert Chicago, who was more than willing to pay the asking price.

The #Raiders have received a bunch of calls in recent days about trading Khalil Mack, but other teams have gotten the impression the price would be at least two first-round picks. No sense they‘re motivated to do a deal. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/OUsqtMQyKu

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 29, 2018

And The Winner Is?

Certain details, such as what Oakland will do with the cash freed from getting rid of Mack are important. Yet, the initial winner is clear. This all comes down to whether the acquisition of Mack really make the Bears a contender in the NFC North. We say absolutely! After adding offensive-minded coach Matt Nagy, the Bears will field an exponentially more explosive offense in the upcoming season. However, now that Mack is onboard, the Chicago defense may have something to prove in 2018 as well. Chicago’s defensive talent pool now includes the likes of Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Leonard Floyd, Kyle Fuller, Eddie Jackson, Adrian Amos, Prince Amukamara, and the man himself, Khalil Mack. While the Khalil Mack trade does bring up the interesting debate of whether a non-quarterback is worth two first-round picks, this trade puts Chicago in prime position to compete in the 2018 season.

While this is as close to a “win-win” as you can possibly get, we give the edge to Chicago.