Once upon a time, the Oakland Raiders traded away superstar edge rusher Khalil Mack ahead of the 2018 NFL season. The move stunned both the fan base and the entire league, and new head coach Jon Gruden had painted himself into a corner immediately upon his arrival.
Fortunately, the Raiders stumbled into a solution: take a defender who can get after the quarterback with the No. 4 overall pick in the following year's draft. Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock had several options, with Josh Hines-Allen, Rashan Gary, Ed Oliver and Devin White all available.
Oakland then stunned the NFL again when it made a massive reach for Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell. Most had him graded as a late first-rounder or an early second-rounder, and to make matters more confusing, the Raiders held the No. 24 and No. 27 picks that year as well.
Chargers signing former Raiders DE Clelin Ferrell after Khalil Mack injury
The Raiders learned a tough lesson after all of this went down: Clelin Ferrell cannot replace Khalil Mack. In a rare stroke of good fortune, the team lucked into Maxx Crosby in the fourth round of that draft, which prevented the selection of Ferrell from looking even worse.
Flash forward to Monday Night Football in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season, and the Raiders are facing off against Mack and the Los Angeles Chargers, where he has played the last three seasons. Mack suffered a gruesome elbow dislocation during the game, which will sideline him for several weeks.
To mitigate the loss of Mack, the Chargers did something that the Raiders already know will not work. According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Los Angeles is signing Ferrell to their active roster after working out with the team on Wednesday.
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Obviously, the circumstances are a bit different, as Los Angeles is signing him as a depth piece until Mack returns from injury. The Raiders, by contrast, hoped that Ferrell could replace the production and attention of a Defensive Player of the Year-level Mack in his prime.
Perhaps Ferrell could surprise some people and work his way into a solid role for the Chargers, which would be the ultimate way to get payback on the Raiders for failing to develop him and not picking up his fifth-year option or re-signing him.
However, it's more likely that the Chargers will quickly discover that Ferrell is atmospheres below Mack, who is truly one of a kind.