Raiders trade away Khalil Mack

Khalil Mack is arguably the best defensive player in the National Football League. He is indisputably one of the five best defensive players in the league. And now, following a prolonged contract dispute, the All Pro is on his way out off the Oakland Raiders and out of the AFC West. For the Raiders’ division rivals, Jon Gruden is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Mack is headed to the Chicago Bears for a package of picks that will almost certainly fail to provide the same value as one of the very best players of his generation. Trading away Mack is, to borrow a phrase from Silver and Black Pride’s Levi Damien, “a catastrophic failure.”

The Chargers’ schedule is officially easier than it was yesterday. Ken Whisenhunt and co. no longer need to figure out how to protect Philip Rivers from Mack twice this year. The absence of Mack makes the entire Oakland defense easier to deal with overall. There are not a lot of players that completely transform their side of the ball, but Mack is one of them and now he is gone.

Even as reports came out that this move was becoming more likely it was difficult to really believe that even the Raiders could be this dumb. But apparently they are and it is spectacular.