Did the Khalil Mack trade shake up the Raiders? Now it can be told, Amari Cooper says
All it took was a season-opening performance on national TV for the Oakland Raiders to realize just how much they missed Khalil Mack.
At least, that’s what former Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper says.
The Raiders were getting ready for their own season-opener when the then-recently departed Mack made his debut for the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. Mack had a sack, a pass deflection, forced fumble, fumble recovery and interception return for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.
The next night, the Los Angeles Rams routed the Raiders 33-13.
“It kind of took a big toll on the football team,” Cooper said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio at Radio Row in Atlanta during Super Bowl week with hosts Brady Quinn, Bruce Gradkowski and Bruce Murray. “We had a meeting about that on Wednesday, I believe, after our Monday night game because players were like, ‘This guy is wreaking havoc, making plays to put the Bears in a position to win football games.’”
The Bears lost that night but went 12-4 to make the playoffs. The Raiders stumbled to 4-12.
Mack was the Raiders’ fifth overall draft pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He finished his time with the Raiders with 303 tackles, 68 tackle for loss, 84 quarterback hits, four fumble recoveries and six interceptions, including one pick-6. He was the 2017 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Cooper said players wondered, “Was that really the best move for our organization for a player like that leave who could’ve done the same thing for us? I guess some of the coaching staff or people involved felt the players were kind of angry about that after seeing what Mack had done on Sunday night, so we had a meeting about it.”
Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, agalaviz_TheBee
This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Did the Khalil Mack trade shake up the Raiders? Now it can be told, Amari Cooper says."
