The Oakland Raiders best player Khalil Mack hasn't been at training camp since it opened holding out for a new contract and it seems to be the hottest topic around the Raiders.
Coach Jon Gruden doesn't think that Mack being gone has been a distraction to the team, although he does wish that he was with the team.
“I don’t think it’s been a distraction,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “It’s obviously, for me, been disappointing. You want to have your best player here. This guy is really a great guy, too. I’m disappointed we don’t have him here. Going to try to get him here as soon as we can. In the time being, you’ve got to move on. You’ve got to get up and go to work. That’s one thing I’m very proud of what we’ve done here.”
The Raiders defense wasn't very good last year and there are no signs that Mack will be reporting to the team anytime soon which is a huge hit to the defense. Mack has had 40.5 sacks since entering the league and was the defensive player of the year in 2016.
The Raiders are really strapped right now trying to get Mack a new deal because they are already close to the salary cap. Gruden signed player after player after player this offseason while letting their best player sit without his new contract. Don't be surprised if Mack isn't with the Raiders week one and it's going to only become more of a distraction every week that he is gone.
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