So maybe in the end, nobody won the original Khalil Mack trade (from Oakland to Chicago) or the original Amari Cooper trade (from Oakland to Dallas). We can shrug our shoulders with some finality this weekend following reports that Cooper will end up in Cleveland for a small bundle of late-round picks, ending his time in Dallas with a little more than 1,000 yards, seven touchdowns and 80 catches per season. Mack is reuniting with Brandon Staley, his former linebackers coach with the Bears, in Los Angeles.
Mack had four more sacks as a Raider than he did with the Bears and earned one more Associated Press first-team All-Pro nod in Oakland. The Bears made the playoffs twice with Mack, losing in the wild-card round both times. The Cowboys made the playoffs twice with Cooper and won one playoff game, a wild-card round victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Cooper’s first season.
With their draft capital, the Raiders picked up safety Johnathan Abram (rated as the worst overall safety by Pro Football Focus in 2020, with a modest improvement in 2021), Josh Jacobs, a Pro Bowl running back with more than 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns in three seasons, Damon Arnette, a cornerback they released after he posted on social media videos of himself showcasing various weaponry while threatening to kill someone, and wide receiver Bryan Edwards, a third-round pick out of Michigan who started to blossom with playing time last year. With their cap space, their big signings included Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams, LaMarcus Joyner and Vontaze Burfict, all of whom failed to produce at best, or failed spectacularly causing a public relations nightmare on their way out at worst.
