Prior to the 2018 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders traded Khalil Mack, a 2020 second round draft pick, and a 2020 conditional fifth round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for the 2019 and 2020 first round draft picks, a 2020 third round draft pick, and a 2019 sixth round draft pick.
As Mack recorded a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, and interception in his Bears debut against the Green Bay Packers, the Raiders fell short to the Los Angeles Rams 33-13 in Week 1.
With the Raiders seemingly rebuilding and the Rams contending, the two teams nearly became trade partners.
The Rams reportedly offered first and third round draft picks to the Raiders for Mack before he was ultimately traded to the Packers, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN:
Rams could have been facing former Raiders Khalil Mack tonight; instead, after they signed Aaron Donald, they offered Oakland 1st- and 3rd-round picks, which Raiders rejected.
Rams would have paid Mack, then traded him after this season because they couldn't afford him in 2019.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2018
For the Raiders, they felt the draft picks were going to be too low according to Rams executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff. In addition, head coach Jon Gruden claims the 27-year-old did not want to play in Oakland because he was not going to show up for the new season.
As for the Rams, Mack, Aaron Donald, and Ndamukong Suh would have been exciting to watch even if it was for one season. While the Rams are contenders with or without Mack, it is another example of the team trying to maximize their championship window.
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