The Oakland Raiders made some serious roster maneuvers on Saturday, but probably not the kind their fans were hoping for.
The Raiders traded away their best defensive player, Khalil Mack, to the Chicago Bears for a slew of draft picks. Later in the day they acquired quarterback A.J. McCarron from the Buffalo Bills. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that they surrendered a fifth-round pick as part of the deal.
McCarron had slipped to third on the Bills’ depth chart behind Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman. He suffered an injury during his start in the team’s second preseason game but returned to start the fourth game. He played the entire contest, struggling early before coming on strong in the fourth quarter.
This will mark McCarron’s third NFL team in the last nine months. He previously spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals. He’ll now join an Oakland quarterbacks room that also includes Connor Cook and EJ Manuel behind Derek Carr. Jon Gruden was looking to upgrade the backup position among the Raiders.
