The Raiders reportedly thought the opportunity was there to reunite with one of the franchise’s best players in recent memory.
But unfortunately for Las Vegas, its attempt went nowhere.
In a column published to The Athletic on Monday, Vic Tafur reported the Raiders back in March checked in with the Bears about three-time first-team All-Pro Khalil Mack.
“The Bears had significant salary-cap issues — which forced them to release All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller and restructure several contracts — and the Raiders thought it was worth a shot,” Tafur wrote. “The Bears were not interested, sources said, and the Raiders went ahead and signed (Yannick) Ngakoue to a two-year, $26 million contract.
“Raiders officials had no comment, as they don’t talk about trade offers given or received, not even the most interesting ones.”
Mack played the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Silver and Black before he was moved to Chicago prior to the start of the 2018 season. The star linebacker was in the midst of a contract holdout when the Raiders flipped him for four draft picks, including two first-rounders.
It appeared to be a rather harsh breakup between Mack and the Raiders, so the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year might not have been overly thrilled to join Jon Gruden’s team. Still, it’s tough to knock Las Vegas for trying to take advantage of the messy situation in the Windy City.
