Three-time All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack is looking fit as ever heading into his ninth NFL season.
Mack started seven games for the Chicago Bears in 2021, the fewest he has ever played during a regular season. Hampered by a foot injury that ultimately required surgery, Mack finished with 19 total tackles (six for loss), a fumble recovery, seven QB hits and 6.0 sacks, per Pro Football Reference.
New general manager Ryan Poles arrived in January and elected to trade the 31-year-old veteran to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a second-round pick this year, which turned into rookie safety Jaquan Brisker, and a sixth-rounder next year, which Poles traded back to the Chargers in return for two seventh round picks (254th and 255th overall). Those two picks were spent on safety Elijah Hicks and punter Trenton Gill.
Mack hasn’t played since October 24, 2021, but he said in March at his introductory press conference he felt “100% good to go,” and based on a recent video he shared on his Instagram page, he certainly looks ready to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks again.
ALL the latest Bears news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Bears newsletter here!
Mack Looks Incredibly Ripped in Instagram Video
In a video he shared on his Instagram page on June 18, Mack is seen working out with trainer Jerry Housey of Strong House Fitness. It’s clear the two are doing ab work, and it’s equally clear Mack has been taking excellent care of his physique.
Check out the video of their workout below, and note the hilarious look Mack gives Housey at the very end of the clip:
The driving force behind trading Mack was largely a fiscal one. Mack was entering the fifth year of the six-year, $141 million extension he signed with Chicago in 2018, and Poles wanted to unload his contract.
“I would say one of the harder things to do was the Khalil Mack trade,” Poles said in March, via the team’s official website. “A guy that caliber of a player is not easy to move on from, but it’s one of those situations that you knew you had to do what is best for the club.”
Follow the Heavy on Bears Facebook page, where you can weigh in on all the latest Bears-related breaking news, rumors, content and more!
Mack Impacted Several Current Bears Players
Third-year pass rusher Trevis Gipson, who is expected to attempt to help fill Mack’s shoes this coming season, noted he has learned a great deal from Mack and fellow veteran defender Robert Quinn. Gipson forced five fumbles last year, tying the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt, for fifth in the NFL, and says it’s something he picked up from Mack and Quinn, specifically.
“I think I picked it up from the vets in my room, Mack and Quinn, last year,” Gipson said at minicamp on June 15. “They are just repeatedly saying, ‘You know, you get the ball out, then you get credit for a sack and the forced fumble.’ … I think getting the ball out is more important than tackling. I think it’s more important than a lot of things. It can change the momentum of the game.”
Gipson isn’t the only player Mack left an impression on.
“Hey, it sucks seeing one of your guys go, one of the leaders,” Bears linebacker Roquan Smith said on April 20. “But hey, life goes on. I know he’s gonna do well out there in L.A. You know, a healthy Mack is a damn good player, as we all know.”
That’s true — and Mack is looking healthy as ever heading into the 2022 season.
READ NEXT: Bears Send Robert Quinn to NFC Contender for 2nd-Round WR in Trade Proposal
Comments
Khalil Mack Looks Ridiculously Jacked in New Workout Video: LOOK