Raiders mailbag: Khalil Mack’s holdout creates madness around the league

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week’s R-J Raiders mailbag. We got your Khalil Mack and stadium parking questions. Here are some answers. Congrats on making it to the final week of the preseason!

Let’s recap the madness that has surrounded Khalil Mack’s holdout in the past week:

— A limo driver told a Detroit radio personality that the Raiders’ star pass-rusher was in town to meet Lions general manager Bob Quinn. Turned out, the limo driver confused Mack for Robert Ayers, who was signed and released by the Lions in a span of 30 hours. So much insanity.

— Then there’s this nugget, via the Chicago Tribune. When Bears coach Matt Nagy asked his team to gather for an important announcement, one player shouted, “Have we all just been traded for Khalil Mack?” Nervous laughter probably ensued.

— Mack’s latest follow on Twitter is Seahawks star linebacker Bobby Wagner. Of course, that led many Seahawks fans to believe Mack wants to play in Seattle.

The thirst is real, and I don’t the blame the other 31 fan bases hoping to land arguably the best edge rusher in the league.

Raider Nation just wants these trade rumors to stop and for Mack to report to the team.

“When do you think we get a conclusion to this Mack drama?” @Raider_chucky tweeted.

No one really knows when this Mack drama will come to end. But here’s my glass-half-full take. If Mack ends up missing a few regular season games, so be it. It’s better than him being traded, which I don’t think will happen any time soon.

If Sean McVay and his explosive Rams offense drop a 50-burger on the Raiders defense to open the season, Mack will probably report to Alameda within 24 hours.

The reality is, contract negotiations get messy and elite pass-rushers don’t get traded.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Raiders already gave Mack a number — maybe one better than Von Miller’s $70 million guaranteed — and Mack and his agent said, “We’ll get back to you.”

Once the Rams take care of Aaron Donald’s extension, which appears to be imminent, then maybe Mack makes a counter and the wheels start spinning again.

Remember when Odell Beckham was supposedly on the trading block this spring? He’s now staying with the Giants as the highest-paid wide receiver in league history. Things change fast in the NFL.

Take a deep breath, Raider Nation.

Las Vegas stadium parking

The Mack situation is causing lunacy on a national level, but locally, the Raiders’ proposed four off-site locations for stadium parking has many upset.

“Where can we tailgate?” Josh Rusnak asked on Facebook.

Raider Nation is known for having one of the best tailgating experiences. The Raiders want to keep that going in Las Vegas, but it’s looking like it won’t happen a few feet away from the new stadium that is scheduled to open in 2020.

It’s still unknown what the Raiders plan to do regarding tailgating. Maybe the Raiders decide to have one giant tailgating party at one of these four sites and the other three will be strictly parking.

The Raiders could provide answers on Sept. 5 when they meet with the Clark County Commission.

“(The Raiders have) said all along that tailgating is one of the most important things to them because it’s part of the Raider Nation culture,” Review-Journal reporter Richard N. Velotta said. “So I’m going to take them at their word. … It doesn’t open for another two years. There’s plenty of time to get all the details together on how exactly this tailgating is going to look like once it starts.

“This is something that is in place in 2020. Everything can look a lot different 10 years later. This is a 30-year lease on this stadium. Who knows what’s going to happen and how things can change in the years ahead.”

Tailgating has changed drastically in the past decade. It’s expensive to pay $50 to $100 just to park near the stadium. People are now pregaming at home or at bars and using rideshares to the stadium.

The real concern is when the masses come flooding after the game and everyone is trying to get home at the same time.

A lot to be determined, but the pregame party will still go on. It’s Las Vegas after all.

Will the Raiders make a move at backup QB? (Water cooler talk)

I can’t escape this question. A lot people want to know who will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Derek Carr.

Jon Gruden said he doesn’t know after Connor Cook and EJ Manuel turned in dismal performances last week against the Green Bay Packers.

If the Raiders are thinking about trading for a backup, they already lost out on Teddy Bridgewater and Brett Hundley. Both quarterbacks were traded on Wednesday.

The Raiders would be taking a big gamble relying on Cook and Manuel if Carr gets hurt. Last year showed how important backup quarterbacks are when Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl and Case Keenum helped the Minnesota Vikings win the NFC North.

How many sacks will the defense have this year? — Mike Padovani (Facebook)

With Mack, this defensive line could be much better with rookies Arden Key, P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst. They had 31 in 2017. Expect a big jump this season with more than 40 sacks.

And let’s just hope Mack is there with the first-year defensive linemen.

Mack for Clay Matthews? — Tom Unke (Facebook)

This Raiders fan, or Packers fan, is already thinking trade proposals.

It’s going to take a whole lot more than Matthews for the Raiders to let Mack go. Add two or three first-round picks and the Raiders might not hang up.

More Raiders: Follow all of our Raiders coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Raiders and @NFLinVegas on Twitter.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.