The Oakland Raiders made headlines for all the wrong reasons when they traded star defensive end Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. If quarterback Derek Carr had it his way, he and Mack would have retired as Raiders together.
Mack's departure is magnified by the fact that he has been perhaps the most dominant defensive player in the league thus far. According to Scott Bair of NBCSports.com, Carr admits it is difficult to watch him play so well in a Bears uniform:
“It’s hard to watch him go out and strip-sack everybody,” Carr said. “He has done that so many times here, and it hurts your heart to see it, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m happy for him. If you’re a Raider fan, it’s hard to see him do that. But just be happy for the guy. He has strained his tail off to get to where he’s at. The fact he’s making plays for someone else, we don’t like it, but we can be happy for him because we all love him to death.”
Carr's comments should come as no surprise. Not only was he losing one of the best players in the league, but also one of his closest friends on the team. The two arrived together in Oakland as the Raiders' first two picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, their tenure together did not last as long as he would have hoped.
It goes without saying that the entire Raiders fan base feels the same way as Carr does. Mack had established himself as one of the NFL's premier defenders while he was with the silver and black. He had given the Raiders plenty of bang for their buck after earning three trips to the Pro Bowl, two first-team All-Pro selections, and the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award in his first four seasons.
However, Oakland decided to go another route. The sting of his departure will likely not subside until they start to see some return on their investment.
Follow Us
Subscribe