Raiders in rebuild mode after dealing Hooper to Cowboys

ALAMEDA, California — Soon after Jon Gruden arrived for his second stint as Oakland Raiders coach last winter he called Amari Cooper a “focal point” of the offence and pointed to Khalil Mack as a reason why he came back to coaching.

Less than two months into his first season back in Oakland, both former Pro Bowlers are gone.

The Raiders returned from the bye week Monday and immediately made another big trade, dealing Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2019 first-round pick. That trade follows the one made just over a week before the start of the season that sent Mack to Chicago for a package that included a pair of first-round picks.

Now a team that won 12 games less than two years ago and was viewed as an up-and-coming franchise with core young players such as Mack, Cooper and quarterback is in full-fledged rebuild mode after a 1-5 start to the season.

“It’s disappointing. Real disappointing,” general manager Reggie McKenzie said. “It was starting to get that way last year when we somewhat took a nosedive, but I understand the NFL, the system will not allow you to keep them all.”

The Raiders have three firstround picks for the first time since 1988, when they took Hall of Famer Tim Brown, five-time Pro Bowler Terry McDaniel and Scott Davis.

They have plenty of holes on the roster as evidenced by the early-season struggles and will now look to rebuild through the draft.

“We’re building this thing in concert together, I’m talking about me and coach Gru,” McKenzie said. “We’re doing this thing together. When we make a deal, I think these picks are going to help this team tremendously, bottom line. It’s something I saw as a great opportunity. We’re not tanking this season. These guys will have to step up and continue to work to win some ballgames. That will always be the case.”