"[Khalil Mack] and Derek [Carr] are the heartbeat of this team." -- Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn, five days before Mack was traded to the Bears.
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- You just knew Jon Gruden would not be able to contain himself, right?
After nine years in the broadcast booth, the new/returning Oakland Raiders coach was spoiling for a fight, so to speak. And when the deadline came for the team to turn in an initial 53-man roster last weekend, Gruden's fingerprints were all over Silver and Blackdom.
Rightly or wrongly, a dizzying Saturday at 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway set in motion a wild roster overhaul that will either elevate the Raiders to new heights or prove to be a season-crushing bombardment of transactions as they open the season Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Rams.