No Deal For Khalil Mack This Year

It appeared likely that the Raiders would extend each of Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson and Khalil Mack this summer, but that won’t be the case. After handing new deals to Carr and Jackson, the Raiders won’t have the cap room to lock up Mack until next offseason, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

The good news for the Raiders is that they won’t be at risk of losing Mack next winter, as he’s controllable through 2018 via his $13.846MM fifth-year option. Mack will surely look to outdo that number on an annual basis on a long-term deal, given that he has emerged as arguably the NFL’s premier defender since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2014. The former University at Buffalo star has been an iron man for the Raiders, having appeared in 48 straight games (all starts), and totaled 30 sacks and eight forced fumbles.

Mack is now coming off his second straight double-digit-sack season (11), in which he also piled up 73 tackles, a career-high five forced fumbles and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ best edge defender. More impressively, perhaps, Mack earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and his second straight first-team All-Pro nod.

Considering what Mack has accomplished, it’s fair to suggest he should be in line for a Von Miller-esque deal when the time comes for him to ink a long-term pact. The Broncos’ Miller, who fell three spots behind Mack in PFF’s rankings last season, signed a six-year, $114.5MM extension that features a whopping $70MM in guarantees last summer. The cap is consistently on the rise, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Mack’s deal outpace Miller’s. For now, he’s on track to play 2017 for just $690K, likely making him the league’s biggest bargain.