Jon Gruden has Raiders in trouble, NFL power rankings, Week 1 and more
After trading Khalil Mack, Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders have made it clear that the team is looking toward the future.
On Jan. 6, the Oakland Raiders hired Jon Gruden. It was a much-ballyhooed reunion both inside the crumbling Oakland Coliseum and around the NFL sphere, with the idea of Chucky returning to the homeland.
For the Raiders, the move was both strategic and emblematic of their longtime squashbuckling ways. Owner Mark Davis took a page out of his father Al’s book, stunning the league with a 10-year, $100 million pact to lure Gruden from the broadcast booth to the sideline. The contract, easily the richest ever for an NFL coach, turned all eyes toward the East Bay.
Perhaps Davis is now wishing some of the eyes would look away.
Throughout the offseason, Oakland pulled off curious personnel moves including signing aging veterans such as Jordy Nelson, Doug Martin and Reggie Nelson. All the while, a staredown was brewing between the franchise and its best player, Khalil Mack. Mack, 27, wanted to be the highest-paid defensive player in league history. The Raiders wanted to retain him at a much cheaper rate.
After sitting out throughout the summer and with no end in sight, Mack was shockingly dealt to the Chicago Bears for a pair of first-round picks, along with a 2019 sixth-round choice and a 2020 third-round selection. Incredibly, the Raiders sent Chicago a second and fifth-round choices in 2020 back.
On Sunday night in a press conference, Gruden contended the decision to trade Mack wasn’t his call. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. General manager Reggie McKenzie reportedly wanted to get a deal done with Mack, while Gruden hadn’t spoken to the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year in months. Ultimately, Gruden and his $100 million power won out, while Raiders fans everywhere lost.
It’s impossible to talk about winning now when you trade a man who is unequivocally your best player. Oakland has done that, which makes all the veteran signings all the more puzzling. Why build an aging roster for a team that is on a treadmill to oblivion?
If that’s not enough, Gruden also took another pair of ugly L’s on Saturday. The Raiders released quarterbacks Connor Cook and EJ Manuel despite a familiarity with the playbook, eschewing them to trade for AJ McCarron.
McCarron, who was about to be the Buffalo Bills’ third-string quarterback, somehow was deemed worthy of a fifth-round pick as a return. When asked what Oakland’s plan was if Derek Carr was sidelined considering McCarron’s lack of playbook knowledge, Gruden stated “hopefully Derek stays healthy.”
Finally, the Raiders released wide receiver Martavis Bryant on cutdown day, despite having dealt a third-round pick for him to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in April. Any of these moves on their own would be viewed by most in a negative light. All of them together are constructing a team flimsier than the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Maybe none of this should come as a shock considering what happened in the aftermath of Gruden’s Super Bowl victory with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. While Gruden was never the general manager — as he isn’t with the Raiders — he clearly held heavy influence over personnel.
From 2003 until Gruden was fired at the conclusion of the 2008 season, the Buccaneers selected 51 players and wound up with three Pro Bowlers in Davin Joseph, Jeremy Zuttah and Aqib Talib. Only Talib would ever have an All-Pro year, and Joseph was the only one to enjoy his best years in Tampa Bay.
If the Raiders are going to save face with the jettisoning of Mack, Gruden needs to do far better this time around. So far, the returns are anything but promising for a man who was out of the league for a decade and has looked very much like it early on.
Power rankings
Top 10 storylines entering Week 1
1. Can Patriots reach Super Bowl for third straight season?
2. Do the Eagles repeat as Super Bowl champions?
3. Will Saquon Barkley prove the right pick over Sam Darnold in New York?
4. Are the Jaguars good enough to win it all with Blake Bortles?
5. Can Andrew Luck stay healthy and prove he’s back for Colts?
6. Jimmy Garoppolo and Patrick Mahomes: Can they live up to the hype?
7. Is it time for a full-scale rebuild for the Seahawks?
8. Deep in the NFC South: Do the Saints, Falcons or Panthers rise to the top?
9. When do the Browns finally get their next win?
10. Does Aaron Rodgers have another MVP season left in him?
Quotable
"“I feel good. Still got to get in football mode as far as pass-rush moves, and it’s just knock the rust off a little bit. That’ll come in a couple days.”"
– Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald on getting back to playing football
At long last, the Rams finally took care of Aaron Donald. After two offseasons of back and forth, Donald put pen to paper on a six-year extension that totals $135 million, with a whopping $87 million in guarantees. Donald became the highest-paid defensive player in league history, if only until Mack inked his contract.
Podcast
Matt Verderame and Josh Hill will be rbeaking down every NFL game each week, with a new episode of Stacking The Box on Mondays, which can be downloaded on iTunes! Additionally, Verderame and Hill will be joined by Mark Carman and Ashley Young on FanSided’s Facebook page, for a live video version of Stacking The Box on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Tune in!
Random stat
The Arizona Cardinals are the only team to have played in three different cities for at least 25 years. They started out in Chicago (1920-59) before relocating to St. Louis (1960-87) before finally settling in Arizona (1988-present).
Info learned this week
1. The preseason is finally over, and it meant nothing
Every year, we all make inferences off the preseason. I try not to, but I’m guilty as well. This is a great time, with the exhibition games behind us and Week 1 directly ahead, to remember none of it matters.
The Detroit Lions looked as rancid as can be throughout August, and they very well might be a tough out for anybody moving forward. Atlanta might just have the best roster in the NFL, and yet it went 0-4. The Chiefs’ first-string defense got blasted by Chase Daniel and the second-string Bears offense, and yet in a regular season game, that very likely doesn’t happen.
Point being, don’t sweat the results of August. If your team survived training camp and the four games without any injuries of note, you won. Now, it’s time to get after it.
2. Broncos move on from Lynch
The Denver Broncos have officially waved the white flag on the Paxton Lynch Experience. Lynch, who Denver general manager traded up to select with the 26th-overall pick in 2016, is now without a team and likely, out of football.
The 24-year-old started only four games in his time with the Broncos, racking up a total of 792 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Of any quarterback drafted in the first-round since 1983, only Jim Druckenmiller of the San Francisco 49ers joins Lynch in having started fewer than five games in a career.
As for the fallout of this disaster, the Dallas Cowboys and Chiefs must be breathing massive sighs of relief. Both reportedly tried to trade up for Lynch, only to end up with Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes, respectively.
Oddly enough, it was Mahomes who beat Lynch in Week 17 last year, perhaps the last time for latter will ever play a down.
3. Texans part with pair of former high picks
On Saturday, the Houston Texans released two former big-name picks. Houston moved on from guard Xavier Su’a-Filo and wide receiver Braxton Miller, opting to go another route. Miller, who made the highly-publicized move from quarterback to receiver coming out of Ohio State, ended up catching 34 passes for 261 yards and a pair of touchdowns in two seasons with the Texans.
As for Su’a-Filo, the 27-year-old was originally thought to be a rising star coming out of UCLA, but it never happened. After four seasons with the club, new general manager Brian Gaine decided to cut bait, opting for some fresher options.
4. McKinnon out for season with torn ACL
The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with injury issues already. On Saturday, 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon went down awkwardly in practice, with tests later showing he sustained a torn ACL. After signing a four-year, $30 million deal to replace Carlos Hyde in the backfield, the 26-year-old is done for the year.
McKinnon, who came over from the Minnesota Vikings via free agency, won’t be able to play his former team come Week 1, a tough moment to be sure. San Francisco now turns its hopes to Alfred Morris, who has enjoyed varying degrees of success with the Washington Redskins and Cowboys in prior stops. Morris set the Washington single-season rushing record as a rookie in 2012, but he’s slowly declined ever since.
5. Chargers bring back Gates
The Los Angeles Chargers re-signed Antonio Gates on Sunday morning, bringing back the future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Gates, 38, has been a premiere red zone target throughout his 15-year career, notching 114 touchdowns.
With the addition of Gates, Los Angeles hopes it has at least taken some of the sting out of Hunter Henry’s loss. Henry was slated to be the starter entering his third season with high expectations attached, only to tear his ACL in May. However, the Chargers are only putting Henry on the PUP list, not IR, believing it’s possible he returns come December.
History lesson
Larry Ball is the only man in NFL history to experience both perfection and utter futility.
Ball played linebacker for the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former is the only team in league history to go undefeated, while the ’76 Buccaneers went 0-14 as an expansion team.
Parting shot
What to make of the AFC North? Most will pencil in the Steelers to win the division, but should that be the case? While it’s evident the Browns still have a long way to go, what about the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals?
Baltimore has been within seconds each of the last two seasons of reaching the playoffs, and should be a threat once more. Joe Flacco has to be feeling heat with Lamar Jackson behind him, while the defense has talent on all three levels.
The Bengals aren’t as talented, but the defense is stacked with pass-rushers and William Jackson III is the best corner you haven’t heard of. If Andy Dalton and John Ross can give it something, Cincinnati is dangerous and one of the sleeper teams to watch in 2018.
Pittsburgh is the favorite and deservedly so, but don’t be shocked if the Steelers are looking up at one, or both, come December.