Report: Gruden and Davis Made The Call To Trade Khalil Mack

No one wants to talk about Khalil Mack anymore in Oakland, but in fairness to all parties involved, don’t we all just want to give credit where it’s do for the genius trade that sent the Raiders best player to Chicago?

Depending on who you listen to, the mastermind of the deal was either Jon Gruden or Mark Davis. Naturally, the owner would have had to sign off on a deal that would send a future Hall of Famer to another team, but who really drove the deal. Gruden was (and probably still is) ticked at Mack’s agent and in his own words, Davis acknowledged a few weeks ago that the team basically caved to Mack’s agent because they did not believe he was going to report to the team without a new deal.

But where did former general manager Reggie McKenzie fit into the deal? According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, McKenzie initially wasn’t open to trading Mack, responding to trade inquiries on the former defensive player of the year with a very clear message:

“Over my dead body,” reportedly responded in texts.

Fortunately, McKenzie was wrong. Not about the trade, but about his dead body. Mack is spearheading the best defense in the league in Chicago and while McKenzie may no longer have a job, he fortunately does still has his life.

The story, according to the Tribune’s Dan Wiederer, goes on to clearly pin responsibility for the Mack deal on Gruden and Davis:

“Ultimately, owner Mark Davis and coach Jon Gruden chose not to keep him,” Wiederer said. “Unwilling to give him the contract he felt he deserved.”

Bravo, fellas.

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