The Oakland Raiders made headlines when they traded Khalil Mack prior to the 2018 NFL season. It appears Amari Cooper and Karl Joseph could be the next players to leave Oakland.
The Raiders have received scathing criticism for trading Mack. However, it seems they have decided to go clean house after reportedly shopping Cooper and Joseph, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports:
“Now, they are looking to shop Karl Joseph, their first-round pick from two years ago, calling all around the league on him. And another name they’re calling around but not as much on is Amari Cooper. So it’s a fire sale in Oakland.”
Needless to say, the rumors are just more salt added to the open wound left from Mack’s departure. Although there had been hopes of a potential turnaround this season, it appears they are heading into full-fledged rebuild mode.
The Raiders sent shockwaves throughout the NFL when they managed to bing head coach Jon Gruden out of retirement. Gruden himself acknowledged the city’s urgency to compete for a Super Bowl before the team left Oakland. However, he has since managed to butcher this squad of all their Pro Bowl talent in a span of 10 months.
Although the prospect of losing two former first round draft picks is certainly not ideal, their departure would hardly sting as much as Mack’s did. The Raiders have struggled to get Cooper involved in the offense on a consistent basis. As a result, his performance has fluctuated throughout the year and he is now dealing with a concussion.
Meanwhile, Joseph has done little to fortify Oakland’s porous secondary ever since his arrival due to injuries. He was the subject of Gruden’s subtle criticism recently when the coach expressed how much he wanted to take Derwin James in the 2018 NFL Draft but could not due to the team’s recent picks at safety. Regardless, it is clear that he is ready to go all in on a rebuild.
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