In 2014, the Oakland Raiders had one of the best combinations of picks in recent memory. In the first round, they selected All-Pro pass rusher, Khalil Mack. In the second round, the team was able to secure a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. Since that draft, Mack and Carr have been tied to the hip. But on Saturday, the Raiders decided to move on from Mack, despite clear resent to the trade from Carr. Here is what Carr said to reporters on Monday about the trade: “It’s not what anybody wanted,” Carr said about the trade. “I think that’s clear. But it is what it is. It’s probably the business … it’s one of those sucky things that happen. The hardest part for me, obviously, you lose a good football player, but he’s my brother, man. That’s one of my best friends, so I think the hardest part is I don’t get to see one of my best friends every day.” The trade will obviously be difficult for Carr off-the-field, but it will also impact him on the field as well. Carr will likely have to a shoulder more of the load as the defense is going to struggle without Mack. Carr is going to need to put big numbers this season to account for the potential struggles of the Raiders’ defense.<doc-sep>In the immediate aftermath of the Raiders' controversial decision to ship Khalil Mack to Chicago in a shocking, blockbuster trade on Saturday, franchise quarterback Derek Carr expressed the way he felt with a two-word tweet. Two days later, when Carr was given a chance to react to the trade in a format that doesn't limit him to 280 characters, he expressed disappointment and sadness that the Raiders gave away both a player of Mack's caliber and one of Carr's best friends, in addition to making it clear that nobody wanted Mack to leave. "It isn't what anybody wanted -- I think that's clear," Carr said Monday, per ESPN. "But it is what it is -- it's part of the business," Carr added. "It's one of those sucky things that happen. The hardest part for me is, obviously, you lose a good football player, but he's my brother, man. He's one of my best friends. I think the hardest part is, I don't get to see my friend every day." Mack, who belongs to the same draft class as Carr, was entering the final year of his rookie deal. Understandably, after piling up 40.5 sacks over four seasons, winning a Defensive Player of the Year award, and being named First Team All-Pro twice, Mack wanted a new contract that would make him the highest paid defensive player. The Raiders, who gave Carr a contract that pays him $25 million annually last summer, weren't willing to give him that, so they traded him to the Bears in exchange for two first-round picks (among other draft picks that were exchanged in the deal) and watched the Bears immediately hand Mack the record-breaking contract he desired. Carr wasn't the only one shocked by the trade. Pass rusher Bruce Irvin tweeted the same thing as Carr, except his version contained an f-bomb. Even Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie indicated that he felt similar. He sounded like a general manager who didn't want to trade the best draft pick he's made in his career. "It's going to sting with them," McKenzie said Saturday night, per NBC Sports Bay Area. "Players protect themselves and their teammates. That's how it should be. They're going to miss Khalil. I'm going to miss Khalil. We all will miss Khalil. Let's make that point known now. We all will miss him, but we will all move on." "My whole thought process was to get Khalil (signed)," McKenzie added. "It was at the end, in the final hour, that it just hit. It hit hard and heavy. It was not a plan to trade him at all." Now, there's nothing for the Raiders to do but move on -- as Carr said they would -- and hope that the Bears are bad so that those first-round picks become top-10 picks. The problem is, the Bears just added Mack to their already improving roster. The other thing is, it seems like there could be some internal issues brewing in Oakland. First, there was McKenzie saying that he'll miss Mack and that he didn't plan on trading him. Then, there was $100 million coach Jon Gruden insisting that he had nothing to do with daily negotiations and that he wasn't involved in the decision to also give the Bears a second-round pick. Throw in players like Carr and Irvin reacting negatively and you have a situation that could maybe get ugly if the Raiders stumble out of the gate, which might just happen considering they open up their season against the Rams, who by the way, decided to pay their generational defensive player in time for him to face the Raiders. The point being, it's difficult to be optimistic about anything pertaining to the Raiders. They're going to be relocating soon. They spent $100 million on a coach who spent the offseason bringing in older players. And now, they've sent away their 27-year-old superstar on the eve of the season when they could've kept him if they really wanted to.<doc-sep>Sunday night Khalil Mack will suit up for the Chicago Bears’ season opener against the Packers. That was a difficult sentence to write, and perhaps an even tougher line for Raiders fans to fully wrap their heads around. But no measure of pain from Mack’s departure can measure up to what Raiders quarterback Derek Carr must be feeling from watching his best friend leave. Carr awoke Saturday morning and was blindsided by the news that the Raiders and Bears had reached an agreement to trade Mack. His immediate reaction was summarized in two simple words he tweeted, “no way.” The fourth-year quarterback told the media Monday that nobody in the organization saw the Mack trade coming “from top down.” “The hardest part for me is, obviously, you lose a good football player, but he’s my brother man.” “That’s my brother,” Carr continued. “The hardest part for me is, obviously, you lose a good football player, but he’s my brother man. That’s one of my best friends. I think that’s the hardest part, is that I don’t get to see my friend every day.” As the Raiders first and second round picks from the 2014 NFL Draft, Carr and Mack shared a close bond throughout their time in Oakland. Both players became the unquestioned leaders of the Silver & Black, combining for six Pro Bowl appearances during the past four years. So when Carr was signed to a five-year, $125 million extension that at the time was the richest in NFL history, Mack rightfully thought he would receive his deal the following year. Instead, Mack found out Saturday he would be traded to Chicago, a move that left him shocked. Just hours later, the Bears made Mack the highest-paid defender in NFL history inking their new defensive end to a monster six-year, $141 million extension with $90 million guaranteed. While Carr is happy for his friend, he would have preferred the extension could have been with the Raiders instead. “When we first came in, we planned the next 10-15 years of our life,” Carr said. “I think that’s the weirdest part, because it’s a little bit of a different chapter now.”<doc-sep>
It doesn't appear that Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will be getting over the Khalil Mack trade anytime soon. In one of the most surprising trades in recent league history, the Raiders traded Mack to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a package that included two first-round picks. Mack was holding out in search of a massive contract extension and promptly received a six-year, $141 million extension with $90 million guaranteed upon being traded to the Bears. Carr, who tweeted out his displeasure about the trade, doubled down on his comments Monday. "It isn't what anybody wanted -- I think that's clear. But it is what it is -- it's part of the business," Carr said to ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "It's one of those sucky things that happen. The hardest part for me is, obviously, you lose a good football player, but he's my brother, man. He's one of my best friends. I think the hardest part is, I don't get to see my friend every day." Carr said his initial displeasure over the trade has subsided but admitted that it's still been a difficult time for himself and his teammates. "I think, obviously, we had the day off that day and so that made it harder because I'm just sitting there thinking about it all day. Whereas now, I've got a job to do. Once we showed up and got to work, Coach addressed it with the team, said what he said, invited anyone who needed to talk to him, open door. He understood that a lot of us were close with him," Carr said. "It didn't go away, because he's your buddy, but at the same time it went away because we have a game to get ready for." Mack is one of the premier players in the NFL, winning 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, and hasn't missed a game in four seasons. If the Raiders struggle again in 2018, many will likely point to the Mack trade as a key reason why.