49ers Should Hone in on Chargers DE Khalil Mack
The Los Angeles Chargers are open for trade business.
Pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack could be on the way out of Los Angeles with the Chargers open to letting them go, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
Bosa is surely the one who will be linked to the San Francisco 49ers the most. Being on the same team as his little brother Nick is sure to be exciting. However, he isn't the player the 49ers should hone in on -- Khalil Mack is.
There is no way the 49ers should bring in Joey Bosa. The guy cannot stay healthy at all and quite frankly is a bit overrated of a pass rusher, especially compared to Nick. Mack is the one who is actually a dominant player and hardly has health concerns as he comes off a 17 sack season.
He is the one the 49ers should take massive interest in as they desperately need another effective pass rusher opposite of Nick Bosa. But the 49ers should not look to trade for Mack. In fact, they really can't due to their salary cap constraints anyways. Should they acquire Mack, or Bosa, via trade then they will take on roughly $22 million of a cap hit. A trade is off limits for the 49ers.
However, a way they should hone in and pursue Mack is if he becomes a free agent. The Chargers are likely to release either Bosa or Mack when the 2024 league year officially commences on Mar. 13. That is because they are $20 million over the salary cap, so they have to clear that space by then. Bosa or Mack are the best candidates for the Chargers to fix that issue.
So, in the event that Mack gets released, the 49ers should be all over him. It does get tricky given the 49ers' own cap constraints, but to get a player like Mack in their ranks would do wonders for their defense. It is worth restructuring however many players necessary to get it done and backloading a deal with Mack. Remember, the 49ers had interest in Mack six years ago.
Albeit, Mack was a younger player with a ton of upside. He doesn't have that upside anymore, but he is still a tremendous player coming off a great season. The 49ers should look into all possibilities of how they can bring Mack in should he become a free agent.
