Getty Derek Carr and Khalil Mack have remained friends since being teammates.
It’s the offseason for the Chicago Bears, so you know what that means: It’s time for myriad hypothetical trade scenarios! The latest proposal to make the rounds is a three-way trade of sorts involving Khalil Mack, his former team the Las Vegas Raiders and disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Bears are currently hurting in a big way when it comes to cap space — they are projected to be $89,572 over in 2021, per Over the Cap. With Mack’s salary next season accounting for 14.6 percent of the team’s total cap, and his contract guaranteeing no money beyond 2021, he’s certainly much more trade-able now than he was a year ago.
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Raiders Analysts Want Mack Back
Raiders Beat suggested the following trade, which would involve the Bears shipping their All-Pro linebacker back to Las Vegas in exchange for two first-round picks — which, in turn, would give the Bears enough draft capital to acquire Deshaun Watson from the Texans without mortgaging their future. Here’s what RB proposed:
Thanks to making the playoffs with an 8-8 record, the Bears own the 20th pick in the 2021 draft and that won’t be a great position to add a franchise quarterback. The draft won’t have a lot to offer at pick 20 and a top-tier quarterback like, say, Deshaun Watson would cost a lot more than two middle first-round picks (assuming the Bears would also include their 2022 first-round pick). But what if the Bears could get two more first-round picks by trading Khalil Mack back to the Raiders. Would they be able to trade for Watson then? If Watson doesn’t happen to be available, maybe the Bears would take two first-round picks plus Marcus Mariota for Mack, who will turn 30 next month. The Raiders haven’t exactly been knocking their first-round picks out of the park, so why not hit the reset button on the Mack trade?
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, whose friendship with Mack is well known, also saw his brother, former player and current analyst David Carr, Tweet in support of the same exact situation just a few days ago:
“I have a solution for the @HoustonTexans and a way out for @deshaunwatson ……Watson to @ChicagoBears for two 1st Round Picks they receive from @Raiders for @FiftyDeuce #bandbacktogether #everybodywins #prodigalsonreturns.”
I have a solution for the @HoustonTexans and a way out for @deshaunwatson ……
Watson to @ChicagoBears for two
1st Round Picks they receive from @Raiders for @FiftyDeuce
#bandbacktogether
#everybodywins
#prodigalsonreturns
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Khalil Mack for Two 1st Rounders? Not Likely
Now, I hate to bring a hefty dose of reality to the situation, but Mack is no longer going to get the Bears multiple first-round picks in a trade. His numbers have declined over the last two seasons (he had 8.5 sacks last year and nine this season, the only times he has finished with less than 10 sacks other than his rookie year), and he’ll be 30 at the end of next month. Few, if any, teams are going to send multiple first-rounders for an aging pass rusher whose numbers have dipped recently.
Trading Mack would certainly garner a first-rounder and more, but would that be enough to help the Bears snag Watson? That’s very doubtful.
The Raiders beat isn’t alone in urging the Bears to trade Mack to acquire draft capital, though. One former Chicago starter is also pushing for a Mack trade.
Alex Brown: Mack is the Bears Best Trade Chip
Former Bears defensive lineman Alex Brown noted on NBC Sports‘ The Football Aftershow this week that Chicago is in desperate need of play-makers, and he mentioned how much the team is currently spending on the defensive side of the ball. Spoiler alert: it’s the most in the NFL. Brown, who spent eight of his nine NFL seasons playing in Chicago, pointed out the fact that the team doesn’t have many attractive trade pieces, other than one, and that’s Mack. He suggested shopping Mack to free up cap space while also acquiring a few draft picks.
“There’s so many holes to fill. What’s the commodity on defense that you could get something back from? Khalil Mack. Khalil Mack is the one,” Brown said.
While it’s unclear how much the Bears could get for Mack, it seems obvious the days of acquiring multiple first-rounders for him are gone. It’s also obvious how much opposing offenses game-plan for the versatile pass rusher, so if Chicago shipped him off, it would create a gaping hole on the line.
There are no easy solutions for the Bears this offseason, with limited resources and, as Brown mentioned, numerous holes to fill. Chicago could very likely trade a key player or two, but who that will be remains to be seen.
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Former Bear, Raiders Analysts Pitch Blockbuster 3-Way Khalil Mack Trade