3 reasons the Oakland Raiders won the Khalil Mack trade

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders (R) embraces Khalil Mack #52 of the Chicago Bears following the match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders (R) embraces Khalil Mack #52 of the Chicago Bears following the match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Head coach Jon Gruden, general manager Mike Mayock and quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders talk on the field before the NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on August 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Head coach Jon Gruden, general manager Mike Mayock and quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders talk on the field before the NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on August 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

A Brighter Future

The Raiders are 3-2, second in the AFC West, and if they continue to trend in the right direction, they will be firmly in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. This team still needs and can get better, and the great news is that they have the assets to add more pieces to the roster. Those assets were in large part acquired via the Khalil Mack trade.

The Raiders still have a 2020 first-round pick along with a 2020 third-round pick to look forward to, and that’s the cherry on top of the additional cap space they can look forward to should they want to make a splash in free agency. The Raiders have a franchise QB in Carr, have paid top dollar to keep him protected, and added weapons like Josh Jacobs around him. They can still add to the offense or continue to revamp the defense thanks, once again, to those assets that made its way via Chicago.

Next. Raiders stun the Bears in London, 24-21. dark

Meanwhile, the Bears may have won the trade in 2018, but last I checked the Raiders’ record at 3-2 mirrors Chicago’s record right now. In contrast, the Bears have business to attend to in the future, like deciding to shell out the big bucks to keep that defense in place and assessing whether they truly have a franchise QB on their hands.