Return of the Mack

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears are on the verge of finalizing a deal that would send Khalil Mack, to the Chargers in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick and 2023 sixth-rounder.

Since Mack’s menacing start to his four-year career in Chicago back in 2018, which included a trip to the postseason, Mack has failed to achieve double-digit sack totals since. In 2021, he played only seven games due to season-ending foot surgery. More importantly, he missed the postseason two of the last three seasons.

There was a time when Mack was mentioned in the same stratosphere as the Rams’ Aaron Donald. However, three disappointing seasons in Chicago have taken some of the shine off of Mack and rendered him an afterthought. He’ll be an instrumental piece in the Chargers’ attempt to gain footing in a division boasting some of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league (Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Derek Carr, along with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert). Mack will be a boon to a Chargers front seven that allowed 138.9 rushing yards per game, third-most in the NFL. He’ll have his hands full, but he’ll have help. Not only will Mack be operating in the same L.A. market as Donald, but his third act revival pairs him with another game-changing defensive end, Joey Bosa.

Bosa’s presence means the Chargers have assembled one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL. That statement should strike fear in the hearts of most quarterbacks, but especially in a particular divisional foe whose quarterback was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL last season.

The Las Vegas Raiders are the only people who feel worse about the Mack trade than the despondent Bears fanbase. Next season, Derek Carr will have to contend with his former teammate twice. In 2014, he and Mack were the gems of the 2014 Draft. Mack would go on to win defensive player of the year in 2017 before he was traded to the Bears. Carr is the last player left from the 2014 Raiders, much less their 2014 Draft. The Raiders have been sitting pat as the Chargers, Chiefs, and Broncos rack up arms.