Since the Khalil Mack trade there has been a lot of hullabaloo about the terrible decision the Raiders made in trading him as if he was a huge contributing factor to a league best defense or even a top 10 defense.

I am not going to sit here and completely dismiss what Khalil brings to the field. He is an outstanding player who arguably outplayed his contract but still had one year remaining nonetheless.

I have heard many talking heads pontificate on many possible reasons for this trade, the commonality with them all is they seem to agree this was a bad decision on the Raider’s part. While I will openly admit I’m not in love with the idea of trading your best defensive player, I can see this from a business point of view.

If Khalil wasn’t going to play this season without getting a new contract then all signs pointed toward him not playing at all this year for the Raiders. This means that he was already absent before he was traded and this season isn’t about the past it’s about right now and the future.

Therefore if he wasn’t going to play the final year of his existing contract and they didn’t want to tie up ninety million dollars guaranteed to one player on a troubled defense then it’s pretty obvious they made the right decision.

I personally think the Derek Carr extension was given too soon. Did you see the game last night? DC threw three interceptions and one was returned for a touchdown, also known as a pick six. Derek Carr has been hurt which he can’t help but he needs to make better decisions with the football, especially late in games.

Truthfully the Derek Carr contract extension makes the Alex Smith contract with the Redskins look like a bargain. I’m getting a little off topic here so I digress.

My point really is this. I wish the Raiders had the money to retain Mack but I’m not sure it’s a smart business decision to tie up $90 million guaranteed in one defensive player when your defense isn’t collectively ranked in top 5 of the league. I do believe that if Khalil wanted to play for the Raiders he would still be playing for the Raiders.

Maybe they have the money and maybe they don’t but either way I agree, albeit reluctantly with their decision.

The value of what the Raiders received in return for Khalil Mack remains to be seen and won’t be realized for a couple of years. I know this for sure, both the Raiders and Bears are 0 and 1, with and without Khalil Mack.