Despite some rumors swirling, Khalil Mack has not been placed on the trade block
Every article that gets posted has at least one comment utterly unrelated to the post is arguing for the Chicago Bears to trade for Khalil Mack. I get it. He is the best in the business at the second most important position in football behind the quarterback. That position also so happens to be the Chicago Bears weakness.
The Chicago Bears have cap space thanks to Mitchell Trubisky and his rookie salary. They also have been adamant that they are going all-in. They are here to compete now. These sentiments showed from the offseason into the draft.
These background qualifiers helped in placing the Chicago Bears as one of the top favorites in Las Vegas to land the superstar. Mack is holding out and is a free agent next year. Jon Gruden needs to set a precedent in his first year back as coach; maybe he would do the unthinkable.
The gas got put on the fire this week when Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported that the New York Jets reached out to the Oakland Raiders regarding Khalil Mack. For some reason, a lot of people took this to mean that the two were having intense negotiations.
From clicking the article and reading the story, Mehta reports merely that the New York Jets called the Oakland Raiders. In fact, in the report, he mentions that the Oakland Raiders tell the Jets that they are not interested but will listen to offers to gauge his value. The article says multiple teams have called and the Raiders have said the same thing. Thank you, but not now is where the Raiders stand firmly.
This story should have the spin that Mack is not readily available. Instead, the title has people thinking that the Jets are, in the words of Mehta ” big-game hunting.” Ted Nyguen of the Athletic clarifies. The Jets are interested in the job, the job may not even hiring.
Ppl are saying that OAK taking calls is evidence that they’re interested in a trade but the team isn’t just going to reject calls from other teams without knowing what it’s about.You can send in a job app and call to follow up a much as you want. Doesn’t mean they’re interested
Nguyen covers the Oakland Raiders and has been around the team during training camp. If Mack were on the block, he would likely have heard something to back that up, rather than refute it.
Still, he could not put out the fire. From there, Optimum Scouting released the most click-bait headline of all-time. When you read the article, it essentially contradicts the title.
The tweet reads “Raiders have put Khalil Mack on the trade block.” The article sources the Mehta report, which states Mack is not on the block as their reference.
Then, the article goes on to mention why Mack is not as available as you think. It goes on to explain that the odds are meaningless and more of a marketing ploy than implied chances. Read this last paragraph and tell me that Optimum Scouting just broke the news that the Raiders are putting Mack on the block.
“The truth is that prop bets, which people typically do not usually know are set to low limits, are not a product of a free market but are a way for books to get people to sign up for their website, with the long-term goal being signing up customers beyond that single bet. On paper, it is possible that a Mack could be a realistic goal for four teams if and only if Oakland is willing to take some 2020 draft picks in the process. Other teams could get into the market for Mack if they shift around their roster to free up 2018 cap space. With all of that said, making anything out of the exact order of odds listed by books is playing exactly into how they want you to act.”
The title reads “Mack on the trade block.” The context of the article tells you that Mack is not on the trade block and not only that, but it also would be tough for any team to wow the Raiders if Mack were to go on the trade block.
This is a good micro view of society today. We are all drawn to the headline, to the shock. The Jets called the Raiders. A quick headline turns that into real traction. One click and reading a few paragraphs tells you there is no traction. But, in need to sensationalize everything, the mass public reads the headline and clicks share without realizing the contradicting information within the headline.
It is time to start researching before clicking share. Do not stop at reading the headline. It would be a surprise if Khalil Mack were available.
