September 1st, 2018 is a day that will go down in infamy for Chicago Sports. It’s the day that Ryan Pace was able to pry away one of the most dominant defensive players of this generation from the Oakland Raiders.
Since being drafted in 2014, Khalil Mack has balled out each year in the league and has made himself a household name for his ability to get to the quarterback.
His time in Oakland will be remembered for pure dominance and making the huge play in the clutch moments.
One of the people responsible for his ascension into superstardom? His former head coach, Jack Del Rio.
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Del Rio Finally Chimes In On The Mack Trade
After leading the Raiders to a playoff appearance in 2016, Del Rio was given the boot at the end of the 2017 season for Jon Gruden.
Since that time, Del Rio has really gone “underground” and has not made many media appearances or been overly communicative on the current NFL on social media. However, Del Rio finally made an appearance on NFL Network and gave his input into the Khalil Mack trade that took place several months prior.
Jack Del Rio finally opens up on the Khalil Mack trade #UpToTheMinute @nflnetwork.
"They certainly got value."
But..
"They clearly decided not to pay one of the great human being and great football players that I've ever coached." pic.twitter.com/J3JUQMKwir— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 8, 2019
The Bears are without their first round pick this year and their first round pick next year because of the compensation for acquiring Mack. The Raiders are now loaded with three total first round picks this season and two next year, which could set them up very nicely for the future.
However, it’s going to be highly debated for years and years to come why the Oakland Raiders let someone as dominant as Mack out their doors.
Del Rio completely agrees and went on to say in his interview,
“When you have that talented of a player, you keep those guys.”
The Raiders have to hit grand slams with the two picks they received from the Bears in order to come out looking even semi-competent in this lopsided trade. This, of course, has been well-discussed and will continue to be for years to come.
For someone so close to the situation as Del Rio was to come out and vocalize what everyone else is thinking should be great validation for Bears fans moving forward. The further and further we get from September 1st though, no matter who the Raiders select with their draft picks, the Bears won this trade.
But we don’t have to tell you that…So why don’t you sit back, grab a beer and enjoy the following Khalil Mack highlights while you watch the Raiders try to do everything they can to balance out this trade on April 25th?
