Gruden has a 10 year contract....he's not worried about making a winner in the next year or two.....
It is almost certainly likely they won't draft another Mack. They are banking on getting decent controllable players....I think their biggest miscalculation, hopefully, is that the Bears draft picks they receive won't exactly be in prime territory for a high quality player...I think they were banking on a good pick from the Bears.....it may be in the 20s and hopefully on the wrong side of 25
Yeah they look like they will get screwed on the draft picks if we are a playoff contender but it is a trade you have to make.
By way of comparison, imagine Pace in year 1 of his rebuild giving a defender 23.5 million. That would pay the guy 70+ million for years that you aren't competing and most likely result in lower draft picks in those 3 years as he adds a couple wins to your win total. Then when you are ready to compete, you will then have to decide whether to pay a 30-31 year old big money. Really not a good use of money.
Trading one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history in his prime for two first round picks likely in the 20s is something that Gruden will never live down.
He will live it down if he builds a winner. Pretty simple really. See above, it is a dumb investment for a team going nowhere to blow 23.5 million a year and hurt their draft position for 3 or more years. If Gruden should be criticized it should be as Modo noted for not trading him to a team with a worse chance of competing like say the Jets. But I make that trade every single time if I am him.
What is a team that probably should be 3-13 going to do with a 23.5 million defender for the 3 years of non-competition? If you are rebuilding, would you rather finish 3-13 or say 6-10 because Mack blew up some games. That is the difference between a top rated QB or having to sell the farm to get one because again, I think Gruden will move on from Carr.
