The earth-shaking trade that sent Khalil Mack from the Bay Area to the Windy City is one that’s going to be talked about for weeks to come, but for Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, as heavy as it is for him to accept that his team’s best defensive player is no longer around, it is simply time to move on.

Carr knows how integral Khalil Mack was to the Raiders. As the linchpin of the Raiders’ defense, Mack gave Oakland’s stop unit an identity and a fearsome figure who often made opposing quarterbacks hesitate before flinging the ball.

Carr, however, also knows that there are more important things right now than dwelling on Mack’s departure, telling Paul Gutierrez of ESPN that the rapidly approaching 2018 NFL season is making it easier for him to forget the blockbuster trade.

“It's one of those situations that sucks — we lost our friend, we lost our brother, but we have games to win, we've got a job to do.”

Indeed, there is plenty of work awaiting Derek Carr and the Raiders in the regular season, especially after going through a regression in 2017 in which the team finished with just a 6-10 record. A year earlier, Oakland went 12-4 and made the playoffs.

Showing that he does not keep any grudges against the people who engineered Mack’s trade, Carr has also implied that he believes that the team’s management knows what it’s doing.

“And I think that's the mark of Mr. McKenzie and Coach Gruden bringing in the right kind of people … handle it like men. You don't have to like it or agree with it, but we're paid to win games.”

Derek Carr and the Raiders will kick off the upcoming season against the Los Angeles Rams at home on Sep. 10.