Former University at Buffalo standout Khalil Mack’s holdout with the Oakland Raiders drags on.
By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The longer it goes, the more worried Oakland fans will be. Will the Raiders be forced to trade Mack? If so, where? According to NFL contract and salary cap expert for CBS Sports, Joel Corry, the Buffalo Bills might fit the … bill.
Corry mentions the willingness of Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane to make trades during the preseason in his reasoning, while also tabbing a potential player the Bills could use to sweeten the deal:
General manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott haven’t been shy about making trades since taking over in 2017. Mack would be returning to the city where he played his college football with a trade to Buffalo. He is currently working out in Buffalo during his holdout.
The Bills had trouble getting the quarterback last season. Defensive ends Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson led the Bills with four sacks apiece.
The Bills are approximately in the same cap position as the Packers with just under $11 million of room. A change of scenery might do Lawson, a 2016 first-round pick, some good. Lawson has been a disappointment and Beane/McDermott aren’t invested him since he predates their arrival in Buffalo.
Approximately $1.4 million of cap room would be gained from trading Lawson, which wouldn’t quite give Buffalo enough for Mack’s 2018 salary. Lawson is under contract through the 2019 season for just under $3.25 million with a fifth-year option in 2020 that can be exercised.
Chatting to former Eagles president and Browns CEO Joe Banner, Corry found a potential compensation total for Mack in his article.
“I think the range is a 1, 3 and 7 on the low end to two 1s on the high end. A lot also depends on how high the 1 is. Maybe it’s a 1 and 2 if it’s fairly high, or two 1s if it’s lower,” Banner said.
Banner also mentioned Corry’s potential Bills trade scenario.
“Maybe a team would be smart to include a 1 with a quality player. Or a 1, a middle pick and a quality player. He (Mack) is as good or better than any of the players we have seen involved in these kind of trades,” Banner said.
In his short career after being selected fifth overall by the Raiders in 2014, Mack has done nothing short of dominate. He has 304 tackles, 40.5 sacks and 11 passes defended in his career. An interception and nine forced fumbles aren’t so bad, either.
At this point, the Raiders could be waiting for another defensive lineman, Aaron Donald, to finish his holdout with the Los Angeles Rams so they have parameters for Mack’s contracts. If a deal can’t be made, a potential Lawson deal could be in the works.
Lawson has shown improvement during training camp. Still, it would be surprising to see Beane unload a first-round pick in many trade scenarios. Plus the Bills already nabbed Trent Murphy this offseason, signing him to a three-year, $22 million deal.
Mack would clearly make a huge impact on the field as a former All-Pro player. And let’s be honest, having the clear-cut, all-time, best Buffalo Bull on the Bills roster would be pretty cool.
Along with the Bills, the Packers, Jets, Colts and Bears are also named as potential landing spots.