Chargers star Khalil Mack hints at retirement following wild-card loss

Los Angeles Chargers star pass-rusher Khalil Mack may be headed for retirement after a loss to the Houston Texans 32-12 in the wild-card game on Saturday.

Before the 33-year-old makes any decision, he said he will talk to his wife and discuss his future.

“Man, it’s a lot of different thoughts in my head right now,” Mack told reporters via ESPN on Sunday. “I can’t really speak on a definitive decision in terms of what I’m going to do because I don’t know if I’m going to play football moving forward, so there’s some things I got to talk through with my wife, spend some time with my kids and try not to make a rash decision after a loss.”

Mack appeared in his fifth NFL playoff game and is now 0-5. 

He first appeared in the playoffs when he was a member of then-Oakland Raiders in 2016. The Raiders lost that game — against the Houston Texans — without Derek Carr, who suffered a season-ending injury (broken fibula) against the Indianapolis Colts when the Raiders were 12-3.

He lost his other playoff appearances when he was with the Chicago Bears and now the Chargers.

Mack hoped this would be the one that would give him his first playoff victory behind Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and safety Derwin James Jr.

That wasn’t the case and Mack will decide on his future. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent.

“I can’t make this situation about myself, man, even though selfishly you feel like, ‘Damn,’ you know what I’m saying?” Mack said. “‘This was the one.”