The question heading into this offseason was never whether the Raiders would pick up their 2018 option on defensive end Khalil Mack’s contract or not.
Mack started on the path to being one of the best defensive players in the league shortly after joining the Raiders as a 2014 first-round pick and was voted the defensive player of the year for the 2016 season. That made it a no-brainer that the Raiders would exercise the option, something Peter Schrager of FOX Sports reports they officially took care of on Thursday.
The big questions around Mack’s status with the Raiders is when will he sign an extension that keeps him with the team well beyond the 2018 season and how big will that contract be given what Mack’s done as a professional.
The Raiders have said they plan to move onto contract extension talks after the draft. They don’t have an option on quarterback Derek Carr’s contract for 2018, however, and that may make his extension a more pressing matter in the short term.