Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock have spent a ton of time, effort, money and draft picks trying to compensate for Gruden trading away standout defensive end Khalil Mack before the 2018 season. They might not be done, either. A report by former Raiders front-office worker Mike Lombardi on Wednesday said
Reports: Jaguars set to trade standout defensive end; Raiders thought to be among teams interested
Here’s how Gruden rationalizes it. First, Ngakoue presumably would want to be here; second, we’re on the back-end of a rebuild instead of the front-end; third, you get first round talent for a second round pick (presumed); fourth, you can never be too strong on the DE position; and fifth, paying Mack money now vs. then is a no-brainer if the circumstances warrant it.
Strong case, Matt. Then it’s upon Ngakoue to validate the trade with strong play. If he plays at a Mack-like level, then it speaks for itself, right? Thanks for the input, as always.
After all these years, we are still talking about the Mack trade because Gruden did not have a ready replacement for him. The QB must go down and must go down hard which means you need pass rushers (and they are not likely to play for free). Gruden has not found his pass rusher and it will be a frustrating search because everyone knows he had one of the best.
No thanks. They spent considerable money on Nassib. What about Key? Reports are out that Key is doing well in camp.
#1 pick and $20M / annually for Ngakoue? Pass.
What if it’s for one year, to see if he’s worth a long-term contract? Otherwise, yes, that’s a lot of money, in addition to a high-round draft pick.
It appears the talk of a Ngakoue trade is just that … talk. Ngakoue, himself, has said he’s not going anywhere.