The Chargers’ 0-6 start has put them in an awkward spot as the trade deadline approaches, and Khalil Mack sits right in the middle of the conversation. Los Angeles has the league’s lowest-scoring offense at 15 points per game, while the defense has been hanging around the middle of the pack and allowing 330 yards and 25.2 points per game. Even with the season going sideways, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Chargers “have given no indication that they are willing to make any trades at this time,” but if the slide continues, general manager Joe Hortiz and the front office may have to think bigger than the present.
Mack has still been producing at 35 years old. He has 19 total tackles and three sacks this season, which is why he could become one of the most appealing names available if Los Angeles shifts from buying to selling. The veteran edge rusher has been on quite the NFL tour: drafted by the Raiders with the No. 3 pick in 2014, dealt to the Bears before the 2018 season and then signed by the Chargers in 2022.
Buffalo makes a lot of sense if the Chargers decide to listen. The Bills are 5-1 and averaging a league-best 32.8 points per game, but the defense has been carrying some serious baggage.
Through six games, Buffalo has given up 386.8 yards and 28.7 points per game, while posting only six turnovers, 11 sacks and a 30.0% pressure rate, second-lowest in the league behind the Colts’ 24.4%. The Bills have already gone down this road with a veteran pass-rusher swing, as they did with Von Miller in 2022.
Mack also has a built-in tie to western New York from his college days with the Buffalo Bulls from 2009 to ’13, and he has made it clear he wants to play in big games and win a Super Bowl before his career is over.
Chicago would bring a reunion angle, and Rapoport said the Bears are “expected to have interest in Mack” at the deadline. Mack’s first Chicago stint was a major one: after the Raiders traded him following the 2018 preseason standoff over his contract, the Bears gave him a six-year extension that made him the highest-paid defender in NFL history.
He spent four seasons there, made three Pro Bowls and landed first-team All-Pro honors. This year’s Bears are 5-2 and have won two straight since Caleb Williams returned, but injuries on defense could push them to keep adding.
Chicago already ranks in the top 10 in points allowed per game at 20.4, yards allowed per game at 313.4, sacks with 19 and turnovers with 10. Pairing Mack with Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat would give that front seven another level of bite.
Dallas is another team that fits. After beating the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 7, Jerry Jones said on 105.7 The FAN in Dallas on Tuesday morning that the Cowboys would like to make another major move on defense.
He added, “It’s unlikely we’ll get the opportunity from the outside coming in, but if it’s there, I’ll do it.” The Cowboys have only 10 sacks, fifth-fewest in the NFL, and a 32.8% pressure rate, which ranks ninth-lowest.
There is also a connection under the hood: assistant secondary coach Robert Muschamp spent three seasons with the Chargers as a quality control coach and worked with the outside linebackers in 2023, when Mack earned his eighth Pro Bowl selection after posting a career-high 17 sacks. With Dallas looking for help up front, Mack would check a lot of boxes.
San Francisco rounds out the list, and the need there is obvious after Week 7. The 49ers lost 29-20 to the Falcons and never got to Michael Penix Jr., marking the third time this season they finished without a sack and the first time they didn’t record a quarterback hit.
General manager John Lynch brushed aside the idea of being aggressive at the deadline, saying the team will “get some things to feel like acquisitions with guys just getting healthy” but will “continue to monitor the rest of the league.” Even so, the 49ers could still use another proven edge player.
Keion White leads the team with 3.5 sacks, and Nick Bosa is close to returning from the calf injury that has kept him out for five weeks. Mack would give San Francisco another veteran presence and another way to tilt the pass rush toward the kind of finish that turns contenders into real threats.
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