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Bear Digest

What the Bears Need to Consider in Any Trade Pitch for Khalil Mack

It's not as simple as giving up draft compensation and cap space to add their former edge rusher back to the mix for GM Ryan Poles, but the benefits could be great.
Gene Chamberlain|
Former Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack sacks former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2021.
Former Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack sacks former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2021. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears



The trade winds continue to circulate in advance of the 3 p.m. Nov. 10 deadline, and especially around teams in the NFC North.

With all four teams over .500 and Minnesota unbeaten, the North is the place where teams with available talent need to focus trade efforts. The Bears are in a situation where they both need help and need to do more to bolster their chances than other North teams. They're essentially competing against North teams on the field but also in the trade market.

In reporting Sunday that the Bears already at least discussed a Khalil Mack trade with the Chargers, Fox's Jay Glazer added something else confirming their status as potential buyers.

"I think they’re going to be very aggressive," Glazer said on Fox. "Ryan Poles, that’s what he does — more aggressive than the other teams in that division.

"So I think they still need help on the defensive side of the ball. And I could see them trying to add some more weapons there.”

Mack would definitely not hurt. The Bears generated pass rush the last two games without Montez Sweat available because they blitzed their minds out against the Falcons and Patriots.

What the Bears really need is help stopping both the run, rushing the passer and defending the pass. Mack gets two of these done for them. In fact, at this moment is Pro Football Focus grade is better stopping the run than at rushing the passer.

Although Poles was not the GM who brought Mack to Chicago through the 2018 trade with the Raiders, he was the one who had to trade away a player who made an immediate impact in Chicago. Having been with the Chiefs organization, Poles knew very well at the time what they were giving up in their 2022 rebuild.

"With the excitement of the players we did bring in, I would say one of the harder things to do was the Khalil Mack trade," Poles told writers at the 2022 owners meetings following the trade with the Chargers."

They made the move in order to acquire more cap space and also received second- and sixth-round draft picks.

"There are a lot of things with analytics, age, play time," Poles said. "We put all of that together, and there's a timing mechanism as well. If you wait, what does that look like? If you do it now, what does that look like? We just thought right now it would allow the Bears to have more ammunition to add more players.

"It was just looking at our future. It was looking at where we needed to go. It just seemed like the right time to do it in terms of value where we can help this team out now and in the future."

It obviously didn't work out the way Poles hoped under coach Matt Eberlfus, but Mack's return would generate fan excitement and also give them another edge who defends the run and pass.

Here are three things to consider when pondering the possibility of a Bears trade for Mack.

1. Familiarity

Mack would have no problem fitting in with Chicago overall because he's been here before, but he also has familiarity with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. The Raiders drafted Mack in 2014 when Allen was their head coach. Allen he was quickly fired in late September of that season before Mack even had one sack for his career. As a fit in the locker room, there is no doubt Mack would blend in as he was never a real loud or domineering type. He blended in very quickly as one of the guys last time and has wherever he has played.

2. Team situation

The Bears are not really desperate for another edge, unless Sweat is suspended again or gets hurt. Their ideal addition would be a defensive tackle who provides a real push from the inside to stop the run and pass because they already have sufficient starting quality on the edge with Sweat, Austin Booker and will have Dayo Odeyingbo back from IR in the future from a quad injury. Playing four edge rushers on game day would be no problem if they had Mack. The rotation also has Shemar Turner in it now and he has had 20 plays at edge or lining up over tackle in two games with solid PFF grades both stopping the run and pass despite his total inexperience.

A better asset to acquire would be the defensive tackle who takes double teams off Grady Jarrett or another play-making defensive tackle like Jarrett, who also rushes the passer effectively. For this reason, someone like 6-foot-7, 295-pound, 32-year-old Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner could be a good fit. He is being mentioned often as available for trade because his contract expires after this year, Indianapolis fired GM Chris Ballard, and he is the athletic type of defensive tackle Allen favors for his scheme and not a blob or roadblock type. Buckner's only drawback is his run defense has tailed off in recent years. Karon Payne is also rumored to be on Washington's trading block and he might be a better fit than Buckner because he does stop the run, although his rush is below Buckner's standard.

3. Scheme fit

Mack is a 269-pound outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. At this stage in his career, he's probably more of a fit for the Bears' 4-3 base than a 3-4 because he'd have very few pass coverage responsibilities. He moved seamlessly into the Bears' 3-4, which was later scrapped. Basically, Mack has played effectively wherever he has gone and in whatever system he played. At 35, he remains a consistent and effective player against the run and pass, and had three sacks in his first four games this season.

4. Cost

This is twofold. They could easily afford Mack on the payroll for this year because his remaining salary cap hit due this year per Overthecap.com would be just below $5 million and the Bears have just over $9 million available. He was operating only on a one-year deal with the Chargers this year after his contract there expired following the 2025 season.

That's the Bears' cap cost. The other cost involved, of course, is what they would need to give up to get Mack. Would they go as high as a Day 2 pick for him? It seems unlikely. A mid-rounder like a fifth or possibly a fourth would be the cap for someone who is 35 years old.

5. The competition

If they don't get Mack, it could be he winds up facing them in the NFC North. The Lions have been touted often as a destination for Mack and their defense has struggled greatly earlier this season, although they did produce a strong effort Sunday in beating the Packers.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell on Saturday put forth a column calling the Lions the ideal team to acquire Mack and proposed the trade should be a fourth- and sixth-round pick to the Chargers for both Mack and cornerback Donte Jackson. Detroit is badly in need of secondary help.

Guess who else could use secondary help? After the way Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson have played, the Bears couldn't turn down that deal, either, although a safety is more of a need than a cornerback. They can't really count on getting back injured safety Coby Bryant during the regular season, although it's still possible.

The Packers could use Mack, too, if they feel like the return of Micah Parsons from knee surgery is going to continue to be delayed. However, their major issues appear to be their offensive line.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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