In Seattle Thursday night, the Raiders – playing few starters – beat the Seahawks easily in the final exhibition game of the summer.
That the score was 30-19 or that wide receiver “Neon” Keon Hatcher had a huge game – eight catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns – likely won’t be remembered three weeks from now.
By then, the regular season will be under way and Hatcher is more likely to be with another team or on the practice squad than on the 53-man roster, which is due to be set by this Saturday.
What is of far more importance is that few front-line players played – sparing them from injury – and that Khalil Mack still hasn’t participated in a single practice or game this summer. The NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and the Raiders are still in a stalemate on a contract extension, and it’s looking more likely every day that Oakland will open the regular season on Monday night, Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams without Mack.
On Thursday, just before the game against Seattle, Mack surfaced on Twitter, responding to a post by Ted Nguyen of The Athletic. After Nguyen posted a video of Mack mauling opposing blockers as he tried to get to a quarterback – with the description “poetry” – Mack tweeted: “I miss it.”
But, rumors were flying Thursday that NFL teams are trying hard to get Mack into their colors and out of the silver and black. There’s no confirmation by anyone on the Raiders that they are willing to trade Mack in the final year of his rookie deal, but Chris Wesseling of NFL.com reported GM Reggie McKenzie of the Raiders is getting plenty of offers now.
Reported the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero: “McKenzie has had multiple offers to him – a high first-round pick and another high pick. I’ve been told he’s been offered a player for Khalil Mack. To this point, none of that has gotten anywhere. So what people around the league believe is that to even start the conversation, you’re talking about having to offer two first-round picks on top of needing to give (Mack) a top-of-market $20 million-plus per year contract.”
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If Mack is to be in the Raiders’ lineup for Game 1 vs. the Rams at O.co Coliseum Sept. 10, something will have to break soon. So far, no one is budging.
