Bears' Mack ready to make Raiders 'pay' for trade

Khalil Mack's list of untapped individual accomplishments is becoming shorter by the day, but he'll try and cross another one off in London on Sunday against his old team, the Oakland Raiders: sacking a quarterback who he considers family.

"No, man!" Mack said with a laugh Tuesday in the locker room after he was asked whether any of the 28 different NFL quarterbacks he's sacked to date also fit the description he gave of his dear friend Derek Carr.

"It was special, man. That's my brother," Mack said of his first four seasons in Oakland and building his bond with Carr, whom the Raiders selected 36th overall in the 2014 draft, 31 picks after Mack went No. 5 overall. "I love him, but it's going to be fun to compete against him this week."

Perhaps Mack will be conflicted if (when) he sacks Carr, but not so much if (when) he wrecks Jon Gruden's game plan.

Consider this response when Mack was asked whether he'd have to fight feelings Sunday of "vindictiveness" toward Jon Gruden's Raiders. Remember, they didn't want to pay Mack after signing the coach to a 10-year, $100 million contract last year, instead trading him to the Bears, who happily sent Oakland a pair of first-round draft picks and quickly promised Mack $90 million guaranteed as part of his $141 million extension to make him the highest-paid defender in NFL history.

"Vindictiveness. I like that word," Mack said. "Yeah, I mean, that's the whole point, man. You can't play this game with too much emotion, man. Ultimately, I try to stay focused on the task at hand and understanding the situation and understanding what they're going to be thinking that I feel. But ultimately, I'm going to go out there and do what I do and that's play football and love the game that I play. You know what I mean?"

We do, but he had to know we couldn't stop there.

After all, Mack already said he was "disappointed" to be traded, and that although he understood it was the "business side of it," his initial expectation was to punctuate the time he and Carr spent building the team's culture by "being there for the long haul and bringing championships" to Raider nation.

So, how much suppressing emotions will be required?

"Absolutely. There are feelings you suppress. But also, it's no big deal to me, man. I'm here. I love the Bears and I'm going to go out and try to get this win," he said, still trying his hardest to be diplomatic.

But wouldn't letting those emotions breathe a bit perhaps fuel Mack's fire even more (imagine this at your own peril)?

"Yeah, man. You can't tell? I mean, nah. Yeah, you could say I'm suppressing the emotional side of it. But the other side is to go out and make them pay for it."

There it is. The Raiders wouldn't pay for Mack's services, and Sunday a different bill comes due: paying for the price of their mistake.

Not that the Raiders haven't been paying for it since last September.

A few interesting numbers dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season to help illustrate the impact Mack's trade has had on both franchises:

• Total sacks: Raiders 18, Mack, who missed two games with injuries last season and played two more on one good wheel, 17

• Forced Fumbles: Raiders 8, Mack 10

• Takeaways: Raiders 20, Bears 44

• Record: Raiders 6-14, Bears 15-5

We finished with the most important stat of all because for all of the remarkable numbers he's compiled and plays he's changed over the past year with the Bears, the effect Mack has had on their defense and their overall locker room culture arguably has been even more profound.

"How would I describe it? You can't really describe it to be honest, man. It's, what you call it, it's kind of contagious, man," he said. "Kind of one of those energies you catch. And everybody's been catching it, man. Everybody has been catching that feeling of wanting to make plays and be out there and make a difference in a positive way. And that's what you see when you turn on the film."

Meantime, two of Gruden's more high-profile acquisitions signed with the money his Raiders saved on Mack won't appear on Sunday's game film. Antonio Brown and Vontaze Burfict, damaged goods upon arrival yet charged by Gruden to change the Raiders culture, have already been released and suspended for the season, respectively.

The Raiders also spent their first of three first-round picks in April - No. 4 overall, which surely the Mack trade helped them secure - on essentially Mack's replacement, former Clemson standout Clelin Ferrell. But it was a reach so far that two different NFL scouts told PFW it was the biggest stunner of Round 1.

Ferrell, like Mack, has impeccable football character, which Raiders brass touted immediately in attempting to explain their reach. But NFL success thus far has completely evaded Ferrell, who has the lowest win rate of any NFL edge rusher with a minimum of 100 pass-rush snaps, per PFF.

Mind you, Mack didn't tally his first NFL sack until Week 8 of his rookie season, and writing off Ferrell, however big a reach he was at the time he was acquired, would be foolish.

And while Ferrell struggles to find his footing, and No. 27 overall pick Jonathan Abram sits on season-ending IR with a shoulder injury, fellow rookie RB Josh Jacobs - whom Oakland spent the first of two first-rounders from the Bears on at No. 24 overall - readies to clash Sunday with Mack and the NFL's top-rated run 'D.'

Indeed, Bears fans will be watching closely the performance of the Raiders, including their young nucleus, not only Sunday but all season because there's one more gift that lies ahead from the Mack trade: Oakland's second-round draft pick next April.

Not that Mack needs any extra motivation to beat his former team.

• Twitter: @ArthurArkush.