Derwin James did his part while trying to get Khalil Mack back to the Chargers

Chris Roling | Jun 21, 2025

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Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t know if Khalil Mack would return to football at all in 2025.

But core team leaders like Derwin James never lost faith.

As it turns out, James was one of the guys leading the, well, charge on getting Mack back with the Chargers around the start of free agency this offseason.

"He means everything," James said, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim. " I was begging and pleading to get him back. I actually hit him up to get him back. I was just so excited when he came back. For him to come back like that, I knew he really loves us, man, and he really wanted a shot at it again."

Now 34 years old, Mack chose to play again and took a rather friendly $18 million over one year when he probably could’ve gotten more from another team. Rhim’s writeup says he talked with other teams, too.

The Chargers not getting Mack back in 2025 could have been an outright disaster, as they also moved on from Joey Bosa. Not that they don’t like an upstart such as Tuli Tuipulotu, but losing Mack and Bosa in the same offseason would’ve been a crushing blow. That, or they could have kept Bosa as a result, and he’s already dealing with an injury with the Buffalo Bills.

Alas, Mack is back for at least one more season, making Derwin James and plenty of others happy about the outlook in the process.