Rams reportedly offered Raiders an 'aggressive package' for Khalil Mack before Bears trade

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
The Los Angeles Rams reportedly offered the Raiders an “aggressive package” for Khalil Mack before he was traded to the Chicago Bears. Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams reportedly offered the Raiders an “aggressive package” for Khalil Mack before he was traded to the Chicago Bears. Getty Images)

After weeks of back and forth, and a lengthy holdout from training camp, the Los Angeles Rams finally locked down a deal with star defensive lineman Aaron Donald.

According to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times, though, the Rams were looking for more.

The Rams were seriously looking to add Khalil Mack last week — before he struck a deal with the Chicago Bears — and reportedly offered what they felt was a solid package for the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“We offered a pretty aggressive package and they came back and said, ‘We just think you’re going to pick too low,’” Rams executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff told the Los Angeles Times.

Demoff declined to say what the Rams offered the Raiders for Mack specifically, though it likely included their potential pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

The Rams finished 11-5 last season and earned a playoff berth before receiving the No. 23 pick in last year’s NFL draft. The Raiders likely expected the Rams — who many consider to be a legitimate contender in the NFC — to have too high of a first-round draft pick next season to be worth their time if they go on a playoff run.

Mack was traded on Saturday and locked down a six-year, $141 million deal with $90 million guaranteed with the Bears, making him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. Chicago traded their 2019 and 2020 first-round draft picks, a 2019 sixth-round pick and a 2020 third-round pick for Mack.

Donald secured a six-year, $135 million deal with $87 million guaranteed with the Rams last week, making him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history until Mack’s deal just one later.

If the Rams would have pulled the deal off, though, their defense would have been loaded with top talent — pairing Donald and Mack together with Ndamukong Suh, who the Rams also brought in this offseason, and Aqib Talib.

The Rams open up their season in Oakland on Monday night, too. That would have made for an interesting first game, to say the least, for Mack had he landed in Los Angeles instead of Chicago.

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