The Oakland Raiders circus continues into the 2019 season as the organization moved on from another star player, 12 months after trading outside linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears.
Head coach Jon Gruden seems to have some self-awareness about the perceived mess he’s put himself in, and he’s having some fun with it after releasing wide receiver Antonio Brown.
“At least I got to meet Antonio,” Gruden said Saturday. “I never got to meet Khalil.”
Mack held out all of the 2018 offseason in search of a contract extension, never reporting to a Raiders practice before the team opted to trade him to Chicago.
Since then, Oakland has moved on from Brown and wide receiver Amari Cooper as the dysfunction dominates the headlines.
The Raiders were able to void all of the guaranteed money on Brown’s contract, so they’re only taking the loss on the draft picks they traded to the Steelers to acquire him.
And as the team continues to look worse, it should only improve the value of the second-round pick the Raiders included with Mack in the trade to the Bears.
