OAKLAND (KRON) – The Oakland Raiders are scheduled to face the Chicago Bears for Week 5 of the NFL season in London, against one former Raider that fans surely do miss.
ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson reports Bears linebacker Khalil Mack expected to be a Raider for life.
Mack explained, “That’s the expectation when you get drafted to a team: You want to be there for the long haul and bring championships and all those good things. It’s the business side of it that doesn’t really let you do that.”
The linebacker was drafted fifth overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2014.
Mack was awarded NFL defensive player of the year in 2016 after finishing his third season with the Raiders.
Since leaving the Raiders in 2018, Mack has recorded 17 sacks with the Bears while the Raiders have accumulated 18 sacks in total over the same time span.
Head Coach Jon Gruden never got the chance to meet Khalil Mack.
Despite the rumors, Gruden had no plan to get rid of the linebacker.
“I’m not going to get into all the drama,” Gruden said. “We wanted to sign Mack, okay? We didn’t want to trade him. I wish him the best. I’m not re-hashing all the drama. We wanted to have him. We couldn’t make it happen.”
Oakland traded Chicago Khalil Mack, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick, in return for a 2019 first-round pick (No. 24, running back Josh Jacobs from Alabama), a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick and 2019 sixth-round pick.
Following the trade, Mack came to an agreement with the Chicago Bears on a record-setting 6-year, $141 million extension ($23.5M per year avg), that includes $90M guaranteed and $60M at signing.
While Mack is downplaying the matchup on Sunday, he’s quick to express the love he has for his current team.
“There are feelings you suppress, but also, it’s not a big deal to me, man. I’m here. I love the Bears and I’m going to go out and try to get this win.”
Following practice on Wednesday the linebacker explained, “You can’t play this game with too much emotion. Ultimately, I try to stay focused on the task at hand, understanding the situation,”