Getty Khalil Mack of the Chicago Bears was wanted by a surprising AFC team this offseason.
Apparently, the Chicago Bears got an intriguing phone call in March leading up to the NFL draft this year.
In an August 23 report by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, desperation on defense led Jon Gruden and the Las Vegas Raiders to pick up the phone and call Bears general manager Ryan Pace about the possibility of a reunion with Khalil Mack. The Raiders, of course, infamously traded Mack away to Chicago just before Gruden’s first season with the team in 2018.
The Bears sent two first-round picks (2019 and 2020), a third-round pick in 2020 and a sixth-round pick in 2019 to Gruden and company in exchange for Mack. Chicago also signed the superstar pass rusher to a six-year, $141 million contract extension immediately after the trade. It didn’t take long for Gruden to miss Mack, though. Las Vegas had a league-low 13 sacks in 2018, and while they amassed 32 sacks in 2019, the total fell to 21 in 2020.
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Raiders Called Bears Before Adding Yannick Ngakoue, Tafur Reports
The Raiders checked on Mack’s availability via trade before they added veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue this spring, Tafur says, but Chicago wasn’t willing to part ways with the All-Pro linebacker. Here’s how it went down, according to Tafur:
Jon Gruden wants to win, and there have been times the past three non-winning seasons where the Raiders coach has been clearly miserable. He himself said that he cried for three days after trading former NFL defensive player of the year Khalil Mack just before the start of his return season in 2018. The Raiders have had a glaring need for a proven pass rusher since trading Mack to the Chicago Bears nearly three years ago and when free agency opened in March, they targeted and planned to sign Yannick Ngakoue. But before they did, they made a phone call, league sources said. Would the Bears be interested at all in trading Mack back to the Raiders?
Gruden went on the record in 2019, saying he had wanted to coach Mack and did not want him to leave, but the Bears offered the veteran pass rusher more money than the Raiders had, in terms of an extension, so Mack’s decision was an obvious one.
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Bears Chose Mack Over Cap Space
Ironically enough, Mack’s monster salary has been a contributor to Chicago’s shoddy salary cap situation (the Bears currently have just over $4 million in available cap space, per Spotrac), and Tafur says the Raiders considered Chicago’s dire financial situation, prompting them to make the call.
“The Bears had significant salary-cap issues — which forced them to release All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller and restructure several contracts — and the Raiders thought it was worth a shot,” Tafur wrote. “The Bears were not interested, sources said, and the Raiders went ahead and signed Ngakoue to a two-year, $26 million contract. Raiders officials had no comment, as they don’t talk about trade offers given or received, not even the most interesting ones.”
Mack’s cap hit this season is just over $14.6 million, but it balloons to 30.15 million in 2022 and $28.5 million in 2023. Mack turned 30 this February, but he still has plenty of game-wrecking moments left, and Chicago clearly values that. If he doesn’t perform up to his standards this season, though, don’t be surprised if the Bears listen more intently to the next offer(s), should they roll in again next year.
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