For Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, seeing his old friend and teammate Khalil Mack succeed somewhere else is bittersweet.
Carr told Scott Bair of NBCSports.com that he’s happy for Mack that he’s doing well with the Bears, but it’s difficult to see the two great games Mack has played so far this season and wish Mack could still be doing it in Oakland.
“It’s hard to watch him go out and strip-sack everybody,” Carr said. “He has done that so many times here, and it hurts your heart to see it, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m happy for him. If you’re a Raider fan, it’s hard to see him do that. But just be happy for the guy. He has strained his tail off to get to where he’s at. The fact he’s making plays for someone else, we don’t like it, but we can be happy for him because we all love him to death.”
Raiders coach Jon Gruden traded Mack because he wants to build for the future, but Carr said losing is tough to take in the present.
“We’re sitting there 0-2 and you feel sick,” Carr said.
Perhaps the Bears’ first-round draft picks the next two years can help Carr feel better about the direction of the franchise. At the moment, however, he’s wondering what could have been if the Raiders had been able to make it work with Mack.