Bears To Trade Pro Bowler Mack To Chargers For Picks: Reports

CHICAGO — When the Chicago Bears acquired Khalil Mack four years ago, the Pro Bowl edge rusher was expected to solidify the Bears defense as one of the NFL’s most dominant.

Now, with the Bears in the midst of a facelift that includes a new head coach and general manager, the team has reportedly moved Mack in exchange for some draft stock designed to help bring the franchise back into relevance in the NFC’s North Division.

The Bears are finalizing a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers that will send Mack back to the West Coast in exchange for a second-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft and a sixth-round pick in 2023, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the Bears were moving on from the 31-year-old six-time Pro Bowler.

Mack recorded 36 sacks during his time in Chicago after the Bears acquired the pass rusher from the Oakland Raiders. However, Mack appeared in only seven games last season when the Bears finished 6-11, which led to the firing of head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace.

The Bears ranked 21st in team defense last season and surrendered 407 points in what proved to be the last straw for Nagy and Pace.

Mack signed a six-year deal in 2018 when he was the runner-up for the Associated Press AFC Defensive Player of the Year award after he tallied 12.5 sacks in his first season with the Bears. But Mack never got back to double-digit sacks during the remainder of his tenure in Chicago during which he finished with six sacks in 2021.

New Bears general manager Ryan Poles has said that the Bears will build their team through the draft and through selective free agency activity. But Poles has also told reporters that he and new coach Matt Eberflus must play the "hand they were dealt" after the Bears have been short on draft picks since trading up last year with the New York Giants to grab quarterback Justin Fields in the first round.

Mack will cost the Bears $24 million in dead salary cap space and would have cost the team $30 million against the cap had he remained on the roster.