The New York Jets hoped Khalil Mack would be wearing green and white when they faced the Bears this Sunday in Chicago.
Instead, Mack is a member of the Bears and likely will terrorize Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.
According to the New York Daily News, before the Raiders and Bears completed their trade last month, the Jets offered their 2019 first-round pick and 2020 second-round selection, and they were willing to increase their offer.
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But the Raiders never gave Jets management the chance.
According to the report, the Jets believed the Raiders simply wanted to get Mack out of the AFC and that they were willing to pass up a better offer in order to send him to the NFC.
The Raiders eventually received a 2019 first-round, 2020 first-round, 2020 third-round and 2019 sixth-round picks for Mack. To the befuddlement of most, the Raiders had to kick back a 2020 second-round pick and a conditional 2020 fifth-round choice in the deal, too.
On Thursday afternoon, The Athletic's Jay Glazer posted an interview with Mack's agent, Joel Segal. Glazer asked Segal how the Mack trade went down, and here's what Segal said:
NFL
We went back and forth, we were trying to get a deal done. Ultimately, communication broke down, it wasn’t what we would have liked it to be at times. Later they made a decision to trade the player. I had been having lunch with Mack in New York and we were going over different scenarios. Later that night I got a call from [Bears GM] Ryan Pace and their negotiator Joey Laine and they said, “You ready to work?
I said, “You guys have permission?”
“Yup. We got an agreement to trade for Mack, you ready to work?”
After trading Mack, the Raiders acquired yet another 2019 first-round pick when they sent wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cowboys on Monday. Here's what Segal, who also represents Cooper, said about that trade:
Reggie McKenzie called me. I’ve had a long relationship with Reggie. Reggie called when the Raiders traded Amari and basically gave us the courtesy of letting us know. We talked to Amari and got it done.
Interesting details.