Chicago Bears to Trade Khalil Mack to Los Angeles Chargers

Four years after the Chicago Bears traded for and gave a huge contract to Khalil Mack, they trade him to the Los Angeles Chargers for two draft picks.

The Chicago Bears made a huge splash just before the start of the 2018 season. They traded their 2019 first, third, and sixth-round picks, and their 2020 first-round pick to the (then) Oakland Raiders for All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack and the Raiders’ 2020 second-round pick.

The Bears then turned around and gave Mack the largest contract ever for a defensive player.

Four years later, just before the new league year, they make another splash. This time, they are the ones trading Mack. They are shipping Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers for their second-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick in 2023.

There were high hopes when the Bears brought Mack to Chicago. It brought a lot of excitement and thoughts of a long playoff run. The Bears then went on to win 12 games and win the NFC North in 2018.

Alas, that was the high point for Mack and the Bears. They did make the playoffs in 2020, backing in with a record of 8-8. They lost both playoff games they played in.

General manager Ryan Poles has a difficult job of rebuilding the roster. Part of the problem was some big contracts blocking future moves. Mack’s was one of them.

The Bears had a salary cap hit of over $30 million this season. With the trade, they save $6.15 million. However, they do take a $24 million hit in dead money, the highest ever for a non-quarterback.

Moving forward, however, they really save a ton of money. Over the next two years, they save $54.75 million in salary cap space.

While the immediate cap relief is just $6.15 million, with future money freed up Poles can hopefully sign impact players and backload the contracts.

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It was a gutsy move by Poles to rid the team of a huge contract. Yes, fans might be upset about losing a player of Mack’s caliber. He was a fan favorite and many did not see the Bears moving on from him yet. However, the Bears aren’t a healthy Mack from competing for a title.

Poles has a lot of holes to fill on this roster. Therefore, he needs some flexibility in how to spend the money to get the right players to Chicago.

Some people might say the return on Mack might be too low. Remember, though, he is 31 and coming off of a foot injury that cost him 10 games in 2021. The bumps and bruises are starting to add up.

When you consider what the Bears wanted to do, this could be a win-win for both teams. The Chargers get what they hope is a healthy Mack to terrorize quarterbacks alongside another great player, Joey Bosa. The Bears gain spending flexibility.

Even if Mack doesn’t work out for the Chargers it won’t be catastrophic. If he isn’t healthy or struggles, they can cut him in 2023 and save over $22 million. If it happens in 2024, it’s over $23 million. The dead money is significantly lower as well ($5.6 million in 2023 and just $3 million in 2024).

Now we just have to see what Poles does with this new-found money. He indicated earlier that he prefers to spend money on second and third-tier free agents. He feels he’ll get more bargains that way. However, he needs some top veteran leaders on both sides of the ball.

For example, he needs to find a veteran offensive lineman. The Bears already have two young starters who didn’t play much in their rookie seasons. Getting that will take a pretty penny. Also, the Bears need an outside cornerback to go with Jaylon Johnson.

An interesting offseason just got more interesting with this trade. We’re all going on this ride with Poles with our eyes covered. There is no work by him to go on. Sure, he was a part of the Kansas City drafts that did well, but what will he do when he is the one who needs to pull the trigger and make the big decisions?

Starting March 16th, we’ll get a better idea.