Nearly four years ago, the Bears pulled off a blockbuster trade for star pass rusher Khalil Mack, trading two first-round picks to the Raiders to bring one of the league’s most fearsome players to their defense. Mack shortly after signed a six-year, $141 million contract extension.
Mack has served as the pillar of Chicago’s defense since, which included an absolutely dominant 2018 campaign, where he earned first-team All Pro and Pro Bowl honors and led the Bears’ top-ranked defense.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have never recovered as they had a pressing need for a proven pass rusher since trading Mack. But according to The Athletic‘s Vic Tafur, the Raiders inquired about the possibility of bringing Mack back ahead of free agency.
The Bears, according to Tafur, were not interested.
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?
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. The Bears were not interested, sources said, and the Raiders went ahead and signed Ngakoue to a two-year, $26 million contract.
During his first season with the Bears, Mack was an absolute force with 12.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 pass breakups and an interception return for a touchdown.
While the following two years saw a decline in stats — 8.5 sacks in 2019 and 9.0 sacks in 2020 — Mack has remained a consistent force off the edge for the Bears, despite fending off some injuries.
With new defensive coordinator Sean Desai in place, Chicago is looking to get back to that dominant defense they were under Vic Fangio in 2018. Luckily, Desai had a hand in crafting that defense.
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