Five Thoughts On The Impasse Between Khalil Mack And The Raiders

With Khalil Mack’s new contract – or lack thereof – dominating the Raiders news feed over the past week of training camp, today seemed like a good day to clarify some of what’s been going on.

Here are FIVE thoughts on the news (some of which has been conflicting) that’s being tossed around right now.

5 – Reggie McKenzie told reporters that Aaron Donald’s contract has no bearing on the Raiders’ talks with Mack. This may be true to an extent, but once Donald signs, the Raiders know the floor for what Mack will accept. On the other side of the table, once Donald signs, Mack can’t reasonably expect to sign for significantly more.

Besides, what’s McKenzie supposed to say? “We’re going to kick back and let Donald set the market?”

So while some will say they aren’t waiting on Donald, both Mack and the Raiders are heavily invested in his deal. Until something happens between Donald and the Rams, it seems like the Raiders might be glad to sit back and do nothing.

4 – If Donald’s deal is what’s stalling negotiations with Mack, it’s a good sign the Raiders probably believe Mack’s valuation on himself is well beyond what they are wanting (and expecting) to pay.

Just a guess, but Mack’s camp has probably set a massive price tag on the All-Pro defensive end and the Raiders expect Donald to sign for less than what Mack’s agent is asking.

3 – What’s been funny about Mack’s situation is that some who are reporting on it are saying the sky might be falling and others are going with a ho-hum “nothing to see here, folks” approach.

The truth is, things can be ugly now between Mack and the Raiders and still come together quickly. With that in mind, negotiations are not going well right now because Mack is at home and the Raiders are a week into training camp. Those are the facts.

Down the road, the sky might fall or Mack’s deal might come together overnight. But for now, Mack is away from the team and both sides aren’t happy about it. You can believe that.

2 – There’s almost no chance Mack will miss meaningful games.

He played out his four-year, $18.6 million rookie deal and he’ll get another $13.8 million to show up this season. He’d be crazy to throw that money away. Regardless of how tense negotiations get, you can bet Mack will re-join the team before the regular season begins.

1 – There are a lot of strong opinions on Mack’s situation, but the idea that ‘Mack is under contract so he should play it out’ isn’t one of the better arguments.

Yes, Mack has a deal in place, but he has been grossly underpaid for three years. The Raiders have been getting a bargain on Mack since he was drafted.

If Mack wants to step away from his job (which he has done), this is still America and he isn’t forced to show up. For most of us, you don’t show up, you lose your job. The Raiders can do that, too. They can fire Mack (release him) and let him go to another team. They won’t do that because they’re not stupid.

If the Raiders really wanted to avoid a situation like this, they could have followed the approach they took with Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson (all came from the 2014 draft) and emptied the bank for Mack much sooner.

In hindsight, Jackson’s contract (albeit smaller) would have been the better contract to be working through this year – and yes, the Raiders could have figured out a way to fit Mack under the cap last year if they really wanted.

twitter: @raidersbeat

Share:

11 thoughts on “Five Thoughts On The Impasse Between Khalil Mack And The Raiders

  1. He has not been grossly underpaid. That is slot where he was drafted. Get that **** right first. Next, he us under contract and he is not going anywhere. He is waiting on Donald and Donald is waiting on Mack. But this is my real question. Where is all the fucking backlash about Donald not being in camp or working on a deal with the Rams? All I’ve heard or seen is reports about Gruden talking to Mack or if he will he be a Raider or not? Gruden spoke to him when he first got the job, then Gruden has done what he supposed to do and thats focus on making sure he has at least 2 out of three dominant parts of a football team. Offense and Special teams. He has let his DC handle speaking with Mack. Our DC has kept the communication line open. So outside muthafuckas kick Rocks. Oakland will be just fine!

    1. Sorry man, but he has been grossly underpaid. Also, the rams/donald media circus was all last offseason. This year, they chose to blow Mack’s situation up.

    2. Not only is Donald not in camp, but the Lambs have extended Cooks and Gurley for a lot of $$$. Where is the outrage for that fact? It’ll all start moving next week when Donald signs because if he doesnt by August 7th he becomes a restricted free agent….and he doesnt want that. All this news is BS and clickbait.

    3. Joe, Mack has been grossly underpaid. He is the best DE in the league, so he should be paid like the best DE. You’re missing the point that Carr and Jackson got paid last year. Mack has been playing at the highest level since coming into the league. If he was paid before the other two, then this would not be an issue; Mack would be in camp.

  2. Slot value or not, the production on the field by Mack would be worth north of $18 million easy. This situation might not get resolved soon with the way the Raiders have thrown money around this year to shape the team in Gruden’s image. If he has to play out the last year he’ll do it, but I wouldn’t worry about him leaving. This is one of the 5 best defensive players in the league, no front office in their right minds would let him go. That franchise tag next year will pay him a pretty penny too, for what that’s worth. Expect to sign for something around $126 million over 6 years with like $85 million guaranteed.

  3. Finally !!! Somebody finally understands the situation !!! All the media hype has blown this way out of proportion, it is nice to read a realistic piece that tells the truth. Mack is going nowhere, he will be a Raider for a very long time. I totally agree with Joe and his comment on “where is the backlash for Aaron Donald and the Lambs”, but I guess the media and writers hyped that up way too much last year to go ahead and mention it again this year. There was trade rumors about Aaron Donald last year as well, was there not ? Le’veon Bell also ate up headlines last year for holding out as well, and yet he is doing the same this year, but not as much media coverage as last year. Smh…….Mack will remain a Raider for a long time, and for the idiots who say to move on and trade him, just stop. That would be utterly the most stupidest thing to do, with instant regrets, continue to be a couch coach and GM with those kind of thoughts and keep that crap to yourselves.

  4. So True So True, like my counter part Said it All talk about Mack but none on Donald like Trump says Fake News is what the Media loves to spread just to get everybody riled up Relax, Chill Raider Nation Mack will be suited up when the season starts No Way Jose he bails on his $13 million plus. Just Win Baby Let’s Go Raiders!!!😎😎

  5. So True So True, like my counter part Said it All talk about Mack but none on Donald like Trump says Fake News is what the Media loves to spread just to get everybody riled up Relax, Chill Raider Nation Mack will be suited up when the season starts No Way Jose he bails on his $13 million plus. Just Win Baby Let’s Go Raiders!!!😎😎

  6. Truly most of Raider Nation is worried that the unthinkable would happen and the Raiders trade him. Leave those thoughts to the media. He will be playing for the Raiders for a long time. In my opinion, it would be better to get an extension done so that Oakland’s best player is HAPPY coming back to the team. Mack knows how much better the defense looks this year, especially with the new DC. He wants to play; he just wants the market value he should get in the updated defensive scale. Were going to surprise some people this year…believe it.

Comments are closed.