The Seattle Seahawks just got an up-close look at the player some believe should become their next major addition.
Seattle beat the Los Angeles Chargers 30-23 on October 4, dropping Los Angeles to 0-4. Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack was nevertheless one of the more disruptive players on the field, finishing with a sack and four pressures while earning an 86.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.
One day later, Seahawks Draft Blog contributor Curtis Allen argued Seattle should explore bringing Mack to the other sideline.
“I can get behind a #seahawks trade for Khalil Mack,” Allen wrote on X on October 5, pointing to Mack’s manageable remaining salary, Seattle’s future draft capital and his value as a run defender.
Meager cap hit of $444k per week and will not cost much in picks, of which Seattle has a bunch in 2027 and likely cannot use them all.
Hidden benefit: He is also an excellent run defender, a MM requirement at edge.
And unlike most October trade pitches, there is an actual opening here.
Adam Schefter Identifies Khalil Mack as Trade Candidate
ESPN’s Adam Schefter listed Mack among the players worth monitoring ahead of the November 10 trade deadline.
“Last year of his contract on a team that is not winning,” Schefter said on October 4. “The Chargers need to turn it around to keep him. If not, they’ll be getting calls about his availability.”
Those calls could become increasingly tempting after Seattle sent Los Angeles to 0-4.
Mack, 35, returned to the Chargers on a one-year, $18 million contract, but $10 million of that came as a signing bonus. His base salary is $8 million, meaning an acquiring team would only inherit the remaining prorated portion of that salary.
That makes him considerably easier to fit under the cap than the $18 million headline number suggests.
And Mack is hardly hanging around on reputation alone.
He has three sacks through four games, five quarterback hits and five tackles for loss.
Seattle saw the evidence itself Sunday.
Khalil Mack Could Replace What Seahawks Lost With Boye Mafe
The Seahawks entered the offseason with an exceptionally deep front, but they did lose one important piece when Boye Mafe signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Mafe finished his Seattle career with 20 sacks and 36 quarterback hits over four seasons and had become a significant part of the Seahawks’ edge rotation.
Seattle signed veteran Dante Fowler Jr. afterward, but his role has been surprisingly small.
Through three games, Fowler had played only 39 defensive snaps — just 20.5% of Seattle’s available defensive snaps — behind DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall and Uchenna Nwosu. Fowler had produced pressure when used, but Seattle was essentially operating with a three-man edge rotation.
The pass rush did come alive against Los Angeles, with Nwosu’s strip-sack of Justin Herbert effectively sealing Sunday’s win.
Mack would nevertheless give Mike Macdonald another legitimate every-down edge option rather than simply another rotational body.
His ability against the run matters, too. Seattle entered 2026 coming off a season in which Macdonald’s defense allowed an NFL-low 3.7 yards per carry, and the Seahawks specifically highlighted Fowler’s run defense when discussing his offseason addition.
Mack would fit the same profile — with considerably more pass-rushing upside.
Seahawks Have Draft Capital to Make Another Move
Seattle also has something contenders do not always possess at the deadline: disposable draft ammunition.
The Seahawks entered the offseason expecting significant 2027 compensatory capital after losing Mafe, Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen. NFL.com currently projects Seattle to receive four compensatory selections, one fourth-rounder and three fifth-rounders.
Seattle was so confident in that upcoming haul that John Schneider said during the 2026 draft that the organization was operating with the expectation of having 12 picks in 2027 before trading one of them to move up.
That does not mean the Seahawks should overpay for a 35-year-old rental.
It does mean Schneider can afford to make the phone call.
Seattle already made one notable veteran addition this week with running back Joe Mixon after injuries thinned the backfield.
Mack would be a different kind of move altogether.
Instead of plugging a hole created by injury, the Seahawks would be restoring some of the defensive depth they lost after winning the Super Bowl — and potentially adding one of the best available pass rushers to a roster already positioned to contend again.
Seahawks Urged to Trade for 116-Sack Star After NFL Insider Warning