Khalil Mack spent four seasons with the Chicago Bears. He was their unquestioned best pass rusher during that entire run. Easily the most dominant the organization had employed since Julius Peppers in the early 2010s. It is unfortunate things didn’t work out from a team perspective, as many hoped. Despite making the playoffs twice, the Bears could never get Mack where he wanted to go.
Now with a new regime in place, the time was right for the two sides to part ways. GM Ryan Poles worked a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers to trade the former All-Pro in exchange for 2nd and 6th round draft picks. Mack gets to join a team that appears ready to pursue a Super Bowl. The Bears get to start over with more picks and without the burden of Mack’s huge contract after 2022. There are no hard feelings.
The 31-year old made that clear during his first presser in L.A.
He was grateful to the Bears organization for taking a chance on him after the Oakland Raiders willingly shipped him out. However, it did sound like Mack had some regrets. He lamented how amazing the first year in Chicago was in 2018, calling it “special.” Then he proceeded to single out every member of that defense by name. It was a good reminder of how close that group was. Sadly it was only together for one season.
Amos was gone the next year and Amukamara not long after that. After the trading of Mack and cutting of Eddie Goldman, only two members from that unit remain. Linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Eddie Jackson. It is incredible how fast things can change in the NFL. Khalil Mack will get to play with Joey Bosa out west, trying to hunt down Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson. The Bears have already begun retooling their defense with arrivals like Larry Ogunjobi and Nicholas Morrow.
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More is still to come. This unit will be unrecognizable by the start of the 2022 season.
