A familiar name has started circling back to Chicago, and the price tag being floated is surprisingly modest.
Around the league, some people think a Khalil Mack move from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Bears would make sense for both sides, according to The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones. He was careful not to overstate how early it is to attach players to destinations, but he did single out Chicago as the landing spot that keeps coming up.
“But Khalil Mack to Chicago is something multiple league sources told me makes the most sense if both teams continue on their respective trajectories,” Jones wrote.
The cost, at least in the view of one general manager and one assistant GM from different teams, could land at a fifth-round pick. The Chargers have not indicated they want to move anyone, but their 0-4 start has only intensified the speculation. Los Angeles is trying to avoid becoming the second team ever to open 0-4 and still make the playoffs, with the 1992 San Diego Chargers as the lone precedent.
There is also a financial wrinkle that makes the idea more realistic. Los Angeles has already paid Mack $10 million upfront, which would leave a team trading for him responsible for less than $4 million across the rest of the season.
Jason La Canfora got an even firmer reaction from another NFL executive: “I think he’s gone.”
Mack has three sacks in four games, and retirement has already crossed his mind before. He also still lacks the one thing that would put a final stamp on his career: a Super Bowl ring. That is why this season could end up being his last.
For Chicago, the fit carries its own layer of familiarity. The Bears acquired Mack from the Raiders in 2018 and held onto him for four seasons before sending him to Los Angeles as part of their rebuild and pick-collecting phase. Mack wanted to stay and described that departure as “bittersweet.”
He has since looked back on that time warmly. On the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast last month, Mack said, “Looking back on it, you realize how important those moments are,” and later called it “a special time.”
Chicago’s current edge picture is not empty, but it is not exactly crowded either. Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, and Montez Sweat have combined for seven of the Bears’ 10 sacks through four games. Still, Odeyingbo has been spending plenty of his snaps inside, which makes the edge rotation look thinner than the raw sack numbers might suggest.
Any deal would have to be completed by Nov. 10, giving the Bears time to decide whether a fifth-round pick is a reasonable price for a 35-year-old pass rusher who already knows the place.
In Other News...
Chargers Fans Still Have One Reason To Believe After An 0-4 Start
An 0-4 start can feel like the season is already slipping away, but history offers at least one reminder that the door is not fully closed. Around the NFL, teams that dig that deep a hole usually stay there, yet one Chargers group found a way to claw back into relevance and turn a miserable opening month into something far more meaningful.
That team came together under a first-year head coach and got a major jolt when the quarterback situation shifted before the regular season even began. The early stumble gave way to a steady run of wins, a playoff berth and even a postseason victory, which is exactly the kind of route this current Chargers team would love to study while trying to stop the early-season damage from becoming permanent. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Injury Pileup Is Raising Bigger Questions About Jim Harbaugh
The injury list around the Chargers has become a weekly burden, with roughly 20 players showing up on reports and nine already on injured reserve heading into Week 5. For a team that opened 0-4, the sheer volume of absences has made it hard to separate bad health luck from a bigger organizational problem, especially as the Broncos come to town and the roster keeps thinning out in key spots.
Jim Harbaugh was brought in to steady things, but the early-season spiral has only intensified the scrutiny around how the staff is navigating it. The latest wave of roster attrition has only added to the pressure, and with Los Angeles still searching for its first win, the conversation is starting to move beyond this weeks matchup and toward what all of it could mean for the coaching staff if the slide continues. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Injuries Could Force Oronde Gadsden Into A Bigger Role
The Chargers are heading into their game against the Broncos with some real uncertainty at wide receiver, and that could reshape how the passing game is distributed. Quentin Johnston and Brenen Thompson have already been ruled out, while Ladd McConkey is questionable because of a foot injury, leaving Los Angeles thin enough to consider other answers in the middle of the field.
One of those answers could be tight end Oronde Gadsden, who has already shown some involvement and may be asked to do more if the position remains short-handed. With the receiver room compromised and other tight ends potentially limited as well, the Chargers may need to lean on Gadsden for extra snaps and targets in a game that now feels a lot more unsettled than it did a few days ago. [Read more 🡒]