One year ago, as NFL teams were preparing for the start of training camp, the Oakland Raiders were in the middle of a stare down with their all-pro OLB Khalil Mack. Looking for a new contract, Mack was holding out and the Raiders were contemplating whether to pay or trade their franchise player.
A week before the regular-season opener, Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears for multiple first-round picks and more, and then received a five-year, $141 million dollar deal with $90 million guaranteed, a record for defensive players.
After the dust settled and the regular season was underway, reports came out that the Green Bay Packers were also willing to trade for Mack, but Oakland believed they would receive higher draft picks from the Bears because of their season projection.
Of course, that plan backfired as Green Bay ended up picking 12th overall while the Bears won the NFC North and finished with the 24th selection.
Now, almost one year later, Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, speaking on 105.7 The Fan, confirmed what most already knew: the team wanted Mack and believed the Raiders chose the Bears due to the likelihood of them having another poor season.
“Well, the whole Khalil Mack thing. It’s not that we didn’t try,” Murphy said. “We were aggressive. We wanted to sign him. I think, ironically, the Raiders took the Bears offer because they thought they would be a better draft pick.”
All of this information had been out there since last fall, but Murphy revealed he wasn’t sure paying Mack and QB Aaron Rodgers (who signed a contract for four years and $134 million with nearly $100 million guaranteed) would be a sound financial decision for the team.
“I don’t know if it is good to have the highest-paid offensive player in the league and the highest-paid defensive player in the league,” said Murphy. “Is that a good way to build a team?”
While the Packers would likely have had to do some maneuvering to remain under the salary cap, having two top-10 players in the NFL on your roster is a problem most teams would like to have, particularly at the two most important positions. Mack turned the Bears defense from good to great and it’s reasonable to suggest he would have had a similar impact for the Packers, who finished in the bottom half of the league in total defense for 2018.
Murphy may just be rationalizing the Packers’ inability to acquire the superstar pass rusher, but building a team with generational talent on both sides of the ball seems to be a solid foundation.
Instead, he, the Packers, and their fans get to see Mack attack Rodgers and the Green Bay offensive line at least two times a year.
