The Monday Morning Quarterback: Oakland Raiders

Limo Driver: Khalil Mack Meeting with Lions Monday

[ PHOTO: USA TODAY ]

August 27, 2018

Peter Solari, Editor-in-Chief

In the age of "fake news" and "unnamed sources," this could be some of the least-reliable reporting you'll ever come across, and for all we know, it's 100% accurate. Welcome to 2018.

According to a Sunday evening tweet from Dan Leach, a sports reporter and radio host on Detroit's 97.1 The Ticket (WXYT), Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack, currently engaged in a contract dispute with Oakland, has landed in the Motor City, and is scheduled to meet with Lions GM Bob Quinn sometime on Monday to discuss a possible sign-and-trade deal between the two franchises. Leach's source? Mack's alleged limo driver, of course.

Just heard from a Metro Detroit limo driver that he just picked up Raiders LB Khalil Mack and he is going to meet with #Lions GM Bob Quinn Monday. Stay tuned.......
— Dan Leach (@DanLeach971) August 27, 2018

Here's more from Jori Grossman at 12Up:

Is someone running around in Detroit posing as Khalil Mack? Can't rule it out.

Mack to the Lions would constitute a pretty big move, but the source seems to be as unreliable as they come. While the rumors seem like the definition of hearsay itself, there might be some veracity to the claim, considering many reporters and analysts believe there's almost a zero percent chance that Mack plays Week 1 for the Raiders.

While Oakland has reportedly rejected trade offers from multiple teams for Mack, maybe Detroit has enticed them to part with their star with a package too sweet to pass on.

As Grossman points out, Mack being traded to the Lions would be a pretty big blow to their division rival Green Bay Packers, believed to be the front-runners to land the embattled Oakland linebacker. Sure, the packers would be stung by such a scenario, but ultimately, they'd absorb the punch and move on. Can the same be said for the journalism profession, or would this be the knockout blow?

There was once a time, not so long ago, when reporters broke news by digging up dirt, hunting down sources and getting them to go on the record, and building a foundation so strong, their employers would put their own credibility on the line, in order to run with the story. Not so much anymore.

Nowadays, crafting news stories isn't nearly as sophisticated. Now, it's as simple as an average-Joe limo driver going to work, picking up a celebrity, and calling a radio station. Then the radio host tweets the limo driver's news to his large following, who will undoubtedly retweet it to countless numbers of people. Boom! Just like that, you've got a national news headline. No journalists or reporters were harmed, or even needed for that matter, in the making of this story.

We are living in truly strange times.