The Green Bay Packers were highly aggressive in their pursuit of Khalil Mack, who was with the Oakland Raiders at the time and effectively forced the team to move him by sitting out the whole training camp.
Brian Gutekunst was in his first year as Green Bay’s general manager, and he was willing to offer the Raiders a first-round pick and multiple more picks in exchange for the three-time Pro Bowler and 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.
The Packers, of course, were eventually outbid by none other than the Chicago Bears, who gave a pair of first-round picks to Oakland, as well as a third- and sixth-round pick, and promptly signed Mack to a six-year, $141 million contract.
Mack spent four seasons in Chicago, garnering three Pro Bowl selections and two All-Pro nominations before being moved to the Los Angeles Chargers, where he spent the final three years, earning Pro Bowl honors each season.
While the future Hall of Famer has only recently turned 34, he is still regarded as one of the top defensive players ready to enter free agency. And many others believe the Packers are the greatest fit for him, including former Green Bay safety Matt Bowen, who now works for ESPN.
“The Packers adding Mack to pair with Rashan Gary would boost their pass rush off the edges,” Bowen said earlier this year. “Mack has six sacks and 41 pressures in 2024 for the Chargers. And, despite turning 34 this week, he remains a three-down powerhouse with the consistent play speed to heat up the pocket.”
Green Bay does have the cap flexibility to make this work, and adding Mack would surely be a wise decision, as he would provide valuable experienced leadership to a youthful club.
However, a recent report suggests that Mack may prefer to take his talents elsewhere. And you’ve probably already figured where that might be.
Khalil Mack allegedly is interested in a reunion with the Chicago Bears.
Earlier this week, Chris Emma of 670 The Score, a famous Chicago sports radio station, reported that Mack is interested in returning to the Bears.
“Sources believe Mack has interest in a return to Chicago, where he played from 2018-21,” Emma told ESPN. “Mack isn’t interested in the spotlight, but the vision would be for him to be a complementary piece of the defense, not the star.”
GM Ryan Poles addressed the Bears’ offensive line needs throughout the offseason by trading for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson.
One would believe Poles is now ready to focus on objective number two, which appears to be finding an edge-rusher to play alongside Montez Sweat. And that’s where Mack comes into play, as the Bears are poised to sign him to a one- or two-year contract.
Surely, the Packers cannot lose the same player to their archrivals twice, right?
At this moment, it is extremely possible, since Chicago is definitely prepared to be aggressive to begin the Ben Johnson era.
But, apart from the discomfort of seeing Mack go to Chicago again, the Packers simply do not want to face him twice a year, since he has traditionally wreaked havoc.
Mack has 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in nine career games against Green Bay, including one with the Raiders, seven with the Bears, and one with the Chargers. Gutekunst may need to be just as forceful to avoid losing him a second time.
We’ll find out soon enough where Mack ends up, since the bargaining session begins on March 10.
Leave a Reply