Could the Chicago Bears be in the market for a reunion with one of its biggest stars from the last 10 years?
ESPN insider Dan Graziano recently predicted the Bears would be buyers at the November 10 trade deadline, citing their 3-1 record—a promising development given Caleb Williams’ absence for the past two games—and general manager Ryan Poles’ aggressive approach to adding players.
“The Bears have needs at defensive back and pass rusher. Assuming they survive this current stretch with QB Caleb Williams
injured…the Bears should be on the hunt for the player or two they believe can get them over the top.”
One of those players just might be Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack, who started for the Bears from 2018-2021.
With Los Angeles circling the toilet at 0-4 and seemingly no end in sight for their struggles in a competitive division, the odds of them holding onto the 35-year-old pass rusher, who signed a one-year, $18 million deal to stay with the Chargers last offseason, aren’t great.
Interestingly enough, though, Mack has remained productive as he’s aged (when he’s been on the field). So far, he has three sacks on 14 pressures so far in 2016, and a solid 79.3 grade on Pro Football Focus, which ranks 15th out of 108 edges, and his run defense has held up even better than his pass rushing.
Sounds like a guy the Chicago Bears, who have played surprisingly well on defense but still need more able bodies, could use. (No shade to Austin Booker and Dayo Odeyingbo, but Mack would easily clear both of them in this lineup.)
The neat part: it would likely come pretty cheap at this point.
For one thing, the Bears wouldn’t be on the hook for the whole $18 million of Mack’s contract, which included a $10 million signing bonus. Chicago only has about $7 million in cap space currently, according to Over the Cap, but a quick contract restructure and simply waiting a few more weeks to make a deal, ensuring the Chargers eat more of the money, could keep the monetary costs down. As for trade compensation, a fourth-rounder or something in that range should probably get the job done, especially considering his age and injury issues the past few seasons.
In other words, what’s not to like?
Mack isn’t what he was when the Bears made that blockbuster trade with the Raiders to bring him to Chicago, where he signed a then-record $141 million contract and tore the league up in 2018. But he doesn’t need to be. He just has to be exactly what he is: a dependable counterpart to Montez Sweat who can stop the run and keep pushing the pocket.
This time around, it’d be a lot cheaper to get him in the building. And the payoff for this Bears team in what looks like a wide-open NFL season could be massive for both sides.
