Raiders Owner On Mack Trade, Gruden
Raiders owner Mark Davis is taking responsibility for the team’s 1-8 start, even though many are pointing fingers at head coach Jon Gruden. 
“I always look in the mirror, and the buck stops with me,” Davis told ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez. “Where this team is right now is my fault. We haven’t been able to build a 22-man roster. We haven’t been able to give this team a chance to win because the reconstruction failed. We failed from 2014 on to have a roster right now.”
Over the course of a 45-minute interview, Davis discussed Gruden, GM Reggie McKenzie, the team’s widely panned trade of defensive star Khalil Mack, and much more. Here’s a look at the highlights:
On Gruden’s role in the Mack trade:
Jon wanted him. Everybody thinks that Jon’s the one who wanted to get rid of him. Jon wanted him badly. Why wouldn’t you want this guy? Reggie wanted him badly. And I wanted him badly, too. But, if in fact we were going to give the type of money that we were going to give to him, and we had Derek on that type of a (contract), how were we going to go ahead and build this football team, with all the holes that we had?
On what prompted the team to send Mack to the Bears:
My thought was, “Listen, he signed a five-year contract, if he’s the type of guy that I think he is, he’s going to honor that contract.” And he’s going to come in and play for the $13MM for this year and then we’ll work for him during the year and get it. Word came back through certain players that know him and talk to him and know me as well, that he wasn’t going to come in. He was going to do the Le’Veon Bell (holdout). At that point, I said, F’ it. The guy hasn’t talked to anybody. We’ve got to do something.
On Mack’s agent, Joel Segal:
It might not have been the right decision, but the other point to this whole thing is that Segal is also the agent for Amari Cooper. And we knew the same situation was coming up the next year. It wasn’t just one layer of chess; it was two layers of chess. But to blame Jon, for Khalil Mack not being here, is absolutely not the truth. It was a decision that was made and it wasn’t made easily … I don’t have any bad feelings toward (Mack). I wish he would have talked to Jon and Reggie and wanted to at least honor the fifth year of his contract.
On the future of quarterback Derek Carr:
Derek is taking a lot of s— right now. He is the franchise quarterback right now. He doesn’t have Amari Cooper. He lost (Martavis) Bryant to a knee injury today. Guys have been getting hurt. Who’s he throwing to? Jordy Nelson and Seth Roberts, which are good guys. But they’re not putting the fear of God in anybody. The tight end (Jared Cook) is playing his ass off. You look at the quarterback and he’s playing behind a battered offensive line … so I don’t know what you can put on Derek and I don’t think it’s fair to put all the blame on him.
On McKenzie’s future:
Reggie and I need to sit down and talk and figure out how we are going to go about the future. We’ve got to look in the mirror and figure out, where the hell did we go wrong in trying to build this thing? We failed. I have failed. But at the same time, we wouldn’t have been in the great position we were in without Reggie McKenzie being here.
Martavis Bryant Suffers Possible Torn PCL
Raiders receiver Martavis Bryant appears to have suffered a torn PCL, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). 
It’s been a weird 2018 season for Bryant, who was traded by the Steelers to the Raiders this offseason for a third round pick, then cut by Oakland, then re-signed. Bryant was originally cut because the team believed he was facing a potential season-ending suspension for another violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
It was confirmed a couple of months ago that Bryant had indeed been suspended, but that the league was allowing him to play while he appealed, and there’s been no update since. Oakland’s coaching staff had been talking up the potential for Bryant to play a bigger role in the offense after the team traded Amari Cooper, so this is a big loss. Jordy Nelson was in and out of the game with a quad injury, so the Raiders’ receiving corp could be dangerously thin moving forward.
While Rapoport noted that while “the hope is he doesn’t end up needing surgery”, “Bryant is going to miss time.” At this point it looks like the Raiders are hoping to get him back at some point this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s done for the year.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/11/18
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions
- WRs Chad Hansen, Tanner McEvoy, Hunter Sharp; TEs Khari Lee, Marcus Lucas, Tyrone Swoopes; CB Denzel Rice
Oakland Raiders
NFL Workout Updates: 11/6/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Daniel Braverman; DE Tank Carradine
Cleveland Browns
- RB Ralph Webb; WR Brice Butler
Denver Broncos
- LB Christian Kuntz
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
- RB Ralph Webb; WR Bruce Ellington; T Andrew Nelson; LBs Cayson Collins, Brady Sheldon, Azeem Victor
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
- RB Josh Ferguson; OL Menelik Watson
Oakland Raiders
- T Roubbens Joseph (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
- G David Bright; DE George Johnson; LB Ejuan Price; CB Jalen Myrick; DB Tyson Graham
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WRs K.J. Brent, Chad Hansen, Marcus Tucker
Washington Redskins
- G Malcolm Bunche; Ts Darius James, Roubbens Joseph
Raiders Sign DE Jacquies Smith
Kony Ealy wasn’t the only veteran defensive end the Raiders signed this week, as Oakland announced that it has also inked edge rusher Jacquies Smith.
Smith, 28, had established himself as a serviceable pass rusher for the Buccaneers (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in only one 2017 contest with Tampa Bay before being cut. He latched with the Lions for two games, but spent the last two months of the campaign out of football.
Earlier this summer, Smith drew a bit of interest, working out for the Colts before landing a one-year deal withe Cardinals in July. He played in three games for Arizona but didn’t make much of an impact, as he saw only 29 snaps on defense to go along with 23 on special teams. After being released in late September, Smith worked out for Oakland last week before landing a deal Tuesday.
Smith (and Ealy) should both be given a chance to contribute in the Bay Area, as the Raiders have fielded the NFL’s worst pass-rushing unit through a half-season. After trading Khalil Mack prior to the regular season, and waiving defensive end Bruce Irvin last week, Oakland ranks dead last in the league in both sacks (seven) and adjusted sack rate. The Raiders’ defensive end rotation is now led by Frostee Rucker, Fadol Brown, and rookie Arden Key.
Bruce Irvin Goes Unclaimed On Waivers
Former Raiders defensive end Bruce Irvin went unclaimed on waivers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The other 31 teams in the NFL were not interested in picking up the $3.8MM left on Irvin’s contract, but he should draw ample interest as a free agent. 
Irvin wants to play for a winner, according Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who predicts that he will sign with the Patriots, Falcons, and Seahawks. Given Irvin’s history with the Seahawks and his ties to Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, either club would serve as as comfortable landing spot.
Previously operating as Khalil Mack’s sidekick, Irvin registered 15 sacks between the 2016-17 seasons. He led the Raiders with three this year, though Oakland’s pass rush nose-dived after the scrutinized Mack trade. He played only nine snaps in Raiders’ embarrassing 34-3 loss to the 49ers, which turned out to be his final game in silver and black.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/18
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed off Colts’ practice squad: OL Zack Golditch
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed off waivers from Broncos: WR Isaiah McKenzie
- Waived: WR Cam Phillips
Detroit Lions
- Waived: WR Andy Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers from Jets: S Ibraheim Campbell
- Waived: P Drew Kaser
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: DE James Cowser
Philadelphia Eagles
- Claimed off waivers from Lions: CB Cre’Von LeBlanc
- Waived: CB Dexter McDougle
NFL Workout Updates: 11/5/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links go to Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.
Cleveland Browns
- T Isaiah Battle, K Jon Brown, RB Josh Ferguson, K Sam Ficken, CB Dontae Johnson, K Marshall Koehn, K Younghoe Koo, K Tyler Rausa, LS Zach Triner, P Ryan Winslow (Twitter links via Caplan and NFL reporter Howard Balzer
Cincinnati Bengals
- QB Connor Cook, WR Chad Hansen, WR Korey Robertson, TE Andrew Vollert (Twitter link via Balzer)
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
- WR Aaron Burbridge, WR Brice Butler (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- LB Marquis Flowers (link)
Oakland Raiders
- RB Travaris Cadet, DE Kony Ealy, DE Terrence Fede, RB Jeremy Langford, DE Ryan Russell, RB Fitzgerald Toussaint (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- DT T.Y. McGill (link)
Titans Were Willing To Trade First-Rounder For Amari Cooper?
The Cowboys’ decision to give the Raiders a first-round pick for Amari Cooper has brought criticism, considering Dallas’ 3-4 record and Cooper’s inconsistency. But their Monday night opponent may have viewed the former top-five pick in a similar light.
The Titans were also willing to part with a first-round pick to acquire Cooper, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports. A Tennessee-proposed caveat may have scuttled a Cooper-to-Nashville path, however.
While the Cowboys landed Cooper for a first-round pick, the Titans wanted to swap Day 2 draft slots with the Raiders to soften the blow of losing a Round 1 choice, Moore adds. It’s unclear if this means flipping both second- and third-round selections, but the Titans look to have wanted something from the Raiders the Cowboys didn’t.
Cooper will debut for the Cowboys against the Titans tonight after arriving during Dallas’ bye week. The Titans (3-4) have also struggled in recent weeks and are hurting for pass-catcher depth. They lost Delanie Walker and enter tonight’s game with the NFL’s 30th-ranked passing attack. Corey Davis‘ 395 receiving yards lead the team. Tajae Sharpe‘s 222 yards are second. Marcus Mariota has only thrown three touchdown passes.
The Eagles, Colts and Redskins were also believed to be interested in Cooper, and the crowded market benefited a Raiders team that now holds three 2019 first-round picks.
Raiders To Sign Kony Ealy
The Raiders are expected to sign free agent defensive end Kony Ealy to a one-year deal, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Ealy, 27 in December, has been out of work since being released by the Cowboys on Labor Day weekend. The Raiders also signed defensive end Jacquies Smith, per a club announcement.
Ealy hooked on with the Jets last year after being cut by the Patriots and proved to be a quality addition. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet in New York, he graded out as the No. 61 edge defender in the league. The Chargers, Dolphins, Falcons, and Bengals all looked at him in the fall, but he left each audition without a contract.
Smith had a combined 13.5 sacks over his first two NFL seasons with the Buccaneers in 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately, a torn ACL in 2016 has kept him off the field for much of the last three seasons.
Predictably, the Raiders’ pass rush has struggled since the Khalil Mack trade. The arrival of Ealy and Smith will not fill that void, nor will it address the Raiders’ issues in every other facet of the game.
After getting blown out by the Nick Mullens-led 49ers, the Raiders will face the rival Chargers on Sunday. If active, Ealy and Smith will provide support behind Frostee Rucker, Arden Key, and Fadol Brown.