The Chicago Bears just made a blockbuster trade for a dream defensive tackle in Jeffery Simmons, and paid more than merely a premium to do it by sacrificing two first-round picks and then some — but that doesn’t mean the team’s pre-deadline work is finished.
Chicago also sent the Tennessee Titans a fourth-rounder for the game’s best interior defensive lineman and got a fifth-round pick back in return alongside Simmons. Consequently, a fifth-round draft asset is precisely the price that most NFL analysts are attaching to Los Angeles Chargers edge-rusher Khalil Mack.
Mack played in Chicago for four years between 2018-21, where he was excellent. The 35-year-old remains a quality pass-rusher who can still set an edge in the run game. He has five tackles for loss and three sacks in six games played, as L.A. returns from its bye to take on the crosstown rival Los Angeles Rams in Week 8.
The Chargers (0-6) are the NFL’s last winless team, yet remain adamant that they don’t intend to move any talent ahead of the deadline. However, another loss could finally lead the front office to wake up and scrap that strategy. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said Thursday that when the Chargers finally come around, he expects the Bears to remain active in their pursuit of Mack.
“Khalil Mack is another big-time name that we are going to be discussing before the trade deadline,” Rapoport reported on October 29. “The Chicago Bears just traded for Jeff Simmons. They still do have a need on the edge. I would expect them to at least inquire about [Mack].”
Bears Can Get Real Value in Trade for Khalil Mack
While Mack is playing on a one-year deal worth $18 million, that salary is not indicative of the cap hit he represents to the Bears in 2026.
Mack will cost less than $4 million if Chicago acquires him next week. That figure represents a prorated amount of Mack’s base salary spread out over the final 10 weeks of the regular season, as the Chargers have already footed the bill for his bonuses.
Thus, the going rate for Mack’s services on a half-year rental is essentially $4 million and a fifth-round pick in 2027. The Bears already signaled their intentions to pursue a Super Bowl run this postseason by paying massively for Simmons, and a move for Mack would also serve those ends at a far lesser cost.
Bears Traded 2 First-Round Picks for Khalil Mack 8 Years Ago
Daniel Popper of The Athletic listed Mack as the No. 12 player on his board of 50 potential trade targets ahead of the league’s November 10 deadline.
“He still has not won a playoff game in his likely Hall of Fame career,” Popper wrote October 21. “Mack has reiterated his ‘faith’ in the Chargers amid trade rumors. But as a capable veteran edge rusher on an expiring deal, he is a logical trade piece. At 35, Mack can still get after the passer, and he remains one of the league’s most physical run defenders on the edge.”
Trading for Mack would be fitting for Chicago, as the Bears dealt two first-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders (then of Oakland) in 2018 to secure the All-Pro pass-rusher the first time around. That didn’t lead to the playoff success either side hoped, but now Chicago has done it again with Simmons and can bring Mack back for the ride.
Bears Expected to Pursue Trade for $20 Million Pass-Rusher Next Week