Oakland Raiders: A few of the worst moves of the Jon Gruden 2.0 era

Waiting So Long On The Mack and Cooper Deals

Gruden knew early on – as early as February, by some reports – that the team and Khalil Mack weren’t going to be able to come to an agreement. He knew early on that they would likely be parting ways with the defensive superstar.

And yet, even with this knowledge, Gruden dragged the process out, subjecting the team to an entire summer of nagging questions about his status before he finally ripped the band-aid off. It was a deal that sent emotional ripples through the team as they geared up to start the season.

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The issues isn’t that he traded Mack. The return he got and the flexibility the team now has makes it justifiable as he attempts to reboot the entire roster. The issue is that he waited so long to do it. Had he made the deal earlier on in the year, the team would have had more of a chance to adapt and adjust to it. Dropping it on them so close to the start of the year was like a gut punch to every man on the roster.

The demand for Mack was so high and had so many teams clamoring for his services, Gruden likely would have been able to get the haul he got for Mack at any point in time. Why wait until so late in the game to pull the trigger?

Waiting to deal Amari Cooper is slightly more understandable – it wasn’t until the Cowboys realized their desperate need for a receiver that the market for Cooper materialized. And many believe the Raiders got over on Dallas by snagging a first-round pick for the fourth-year receiver. Though, in all honesty, it seems more like a win-win.

Dealing Cooper cuts the cord on a contract that was sure to be hefty, and avoids the same type of showdown they dealt with this year – and it would have been coming since Mack and Cooper share the same agent.

But, it’s a pretty fair bet that Gruden knew early on – even though he kept talking Cooper up as the focal point of the offense – that he was going to be dealing the Alabama product given the reasons listed just above.

Why not start putting feelers out earlier and get teams into a bidding war? Yeah, they got a great return on him from Dallas – but, they could have potentially gotten more from him if they’d drummed up an auction for Cooper.

The emotional toll on a team that was already still reeling from some of the team’s other offseason moves is unfortunate, and can account for some of the general malaise of this team. The timing was horrible, but at least, it’s more understandable. You just wish they could have done this early on to let the team recover and adjust.

Some of us have no issue with dealing Mack and Cooper. To net three first-rounders when this team has so many holes that need to be filled is a good haul. Neither Cooper nor Mack were going to be able to fix all the deficiencies this team has.

The money the organization is saving and the flexibility they have from not doling out max contracts is going to help make the rebuild happen much sooner than if they’d been tied down for tens of millions of dollars to just three guys. That, in and of itself, makes dealing Cooper and Mack a little more palatable.

Gruden’s timing on the two deals though, completely sucked.