The Oakland Raiders have yet to resolve the contract situation of edge rusher Khalil Mack. He is showing no signs of returning from his holdout, and by all accounts, they are showing no signs of wanting to work out a new contract with him. The first real measure of where this stands might be Week 1, so we can figure out just how serious Mack is about holding out.
There has been some talk about the Raiders eventually trading him, and NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero sort of tossed a log on the fire. Or at least maybe a little kindling.
Pelissero said that teams around the league felt it would take at least two first round picks to even get the Raiders open to a conversation. They do not seem overly interested in making a trade, but clearly if a team is prepared to make them a Godfather offer, they will at least listen.
The #Raiders have received a bunch of calls in recent days about trading Khalil Mack, but other teams have gotten the impression the price would be at least two first-round picks. No sense they‘re motivated to do a deal. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/OUsqtMQyKu
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 29, 2018
So that brings us to the $10,000 question: if you were the GM of the San Francisco 49ers, would you be willing to give up two first round picks to acquire Mack? This is apparently to get a conversation started, so are you prepared to go higher with another later pick tossed in? What do you think is a reasonable offer for Mack?
Edge rusher is an area of need for the 49ers at this point. If they found a true difference-maker at the position, that could be what puts them into serious playoff contention, and not just hoping things fall their way to compete for a wild card. There’s no guarantees given the questions surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo and much of the defense, but it would certainly be a big step forward. Is that worth a pair of firsts?