The Khalil Mack Trade has left one heck of a ripple effect throughout the NFL.
It’s a deal that haunted Jon Gruden, made the Raiders coach cry, left John Lynch in his feelings about not being able to get it done, and ultimately changed the trajectory of the Chicago Bears franchise. And on top of all that, it screwed over the Bears’ long-time nemesis.
In an interview with 105.7 FM The Fan in Baltimore, Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy said the team was “aggressive” in trying to trade for and sign Mack last summer. We all know now that the Packers came up short, but Murphy’s explanation as to why shines some new light on the situation.
“It’s not that we didn’t try,” Murphy said. “We were aggressive. We wanted to sign him. I think, ironically, the Raiders took the Bears offer because they thought they would be a better draft pick.”
As it turns out, that wasn’t how the cookie crumbled. The Packers (without Mack) ended up with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, while the Raiders ended up owning the 24th pick as the Bears (with Mack) won 12 games and the NFC North title. And in the end, it seems as if a little bit of smooth talking from Bears GM Ryan Pace allowed him to swing a big-time deal, while leaving his team’s biggest rivals in the dust. Just follow me for a moment.
Murphy joins 49ers GM John Lynch in coming out to the public declaring their teams made aggressive offers with eyes on acquiring Mack, only to come up short because the Raiders wanted better draft capital (and assumed the Bears would give it to them). If both the Packers and 49ers deals were as “aggressive” or “similar” to that of the Bears deals, then it virtually confirms that (1) Gruden and the Raiders were looking for the best/highest picks in a Mack trade and (2) the Bears were able to sweet-talk their way into the mix by possibly under-selling a team that had a top-10 scoring and yardage defense the year before, but might have been a year or two away because it was bringing in a new head coach to bring along their highly touted quarterback prospect.
If that’s the case, then Pace really pulled one over on the Raiders in a move that ultimately tripped up the Packers. You gotta love it!