Raiders coach Jon Gruden is not backing down

[chenyan94]

from his decision to trade star pass rusher Khalil Mack https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Joel-Iyiegbuniwe-Jersey , but his latest explanation for the move wrongly suggests that the Raiders had no other choice.“Obviously Khalil Mack didn’t want to play here. That’s what’s being missed here. He was under contract,” Gruden told ESPN. “He was under contract, he never showed up for an OTA, he never showed up for training camp, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to show up for the season. Don’t forget that. We have to get ready to play and I want players that want to be here, that want to help us put this thing back in high gear.”Of course, there’s nothing that says a player has to be traded just because he doesn’t show up. The Rams didn’t trade Aaron Donald when he didn’t show up Nick Kwiatkoski Color Rush Jersey , the Seahawks didn’t trade Earl Thomas when he didn’t show up, and many, many NFL teams have worked things out with players who held out of training camp.The Raiders could have done what the Rams did with Donald and given Mack the contract he wanted. Or the Raiders could have done what the Seahawks did and held firm until Mack reported. (Unlike Thomas, Mack likely wouldn’t have reported in time to play in Week One, but if the Raiders had refused to budge he would have reported eventually, as his only other option would have been retiring.)But Gruden is on Year One of a 10-year contract and calculated that the draft picks and cap space he acquired by trading Mack to the Bears will be worth it. In the long term, he might be right. In the short term Prince Amukamara Jersey , he’s wrong to suggest that he had no other choice. Mitchell Trubisky had by far the best game of his young NFL career today in Chicago, as the Bears obliterated the Buccaneers in one of this season’s biggest blowouts.The game was never close, as Trubisky threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter and three in the second quarter on the way to a 38-3 halftime lead. The entire second half was basically garbage time, and the Bears cruised to a 48-10 win.Khalil Mack had another good game for the Bears, sacking Fitzpatrick and forcing him to fumble, and later pressuring Winston into an interception.In the second half, the Bucs benched Ryan Fitzpatrick for Jameis Winston https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Adam-Shaheen-Jersey , but that didn’t make much of a difference: The Bears’ defense was better than the Buccaneers’ offense with either quarterback, and Winston’s better numbers were a product of the way the Bears’ defense playing it safe with a big lead.The Bears improve to 3-1 and remain on top of the NFC North. The Buccaneers fall to 2-2, and their great start behind Fitzpatrick now feels like a distant memory.