Bears A Team To Watch For Khalil Mack?

Mack has been a Charger since they acquired him from the Bears in 2022. There is a possibility the nine-time Pro Bowler will head back to Chicago this season, as multiple sources told Jones a swap would make sense if both teams stay on their current paths.

At 0-4 and dealing with a rash of injuries, the Chargers already look buried. Meanwhile, although the Bears are without injured starting quarterback Caleb Williams for the third game in a row on Sunday, they are off to a 3-1 start.

The Bears went 11-6 and won the NFC North last season despite an unimposing pass rush. They tied for 26th in sacks and ranked 31st in win rate, but general manager Ryan Poles didn’t do much to address it during the offseason. Nevertheless, the Bears’ rush has been better out of the gates this year. They’re tied for eighth in the league with 10 sacks, seven of which have come from ends Dayo Odeyingbo, Montez Sweat and Austin Booker, and sit a respectable 14th in win rate.

Mack is no longer the Defensive Player of the Year-winning performer he was in Oakland or 2016 or his five-time All-Pro self, though the 35-year-old remains an asset. While playing 68% of the Chargers’ defensive snaps this season (his 13th in the NFL), Mack has tallied 14 tackles, five TFL, five quarterback hits and three sacks. Mack is 16th in the league in pressures (14), per Pro Football Focus, which ranks him as the 17th-best edge defender in the league out of 113 qualifiers.

After their second straight 11-win, playoff-bound season in 2025, the Chargers re-upped Mack on an $18MM deal that includes an $8MM base salary. An acquiring team would need around $5MM to $6MM, Jones notes, and Over the Cap has the Bears with a little over $7.29MM in wiggle room. That would give them just enough to reel in Mack, who notched 36 of his career 116 sacks in their uniform from 2018-21.

If the Chargers send Mack to the Bears or a different contender, he could get another chance to win a playoff game for the first time. The potential Hall of Famer is 0-6 in the postseason, including two losses with the Bears.