The Chicago Bears have some pressing needs this offseason and not a whole lot of draft capital to address them. New general manager Ryan Poles inherited just five draft selections, and he’ll be without a first-round pick.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Poles said that he’d be “open minded” about acquiring more draft capital, which could include trading down in the draft. It could also include trading an impact player currently on the roster.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune said there was some discussion at the NFL Combine about whether Khalil Mack could be on the trade block. After all, the best way to acquire more draft capital would be to trade a player in demand.
“Paying down part of that could help them get a better return,” Biggs told 670 the Score. “I talked to one guy right at the end of the season and said, ‘Boy, if they tried to trade Mack, what do you think they could get?’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t know, he’s been banged up, he’s still obviously excellent when healthy.’ And the guy thought maybe a second-round pick and then the Bears and whoever they’re trading him to could maybe haggle over a late-round pick to be part of the package too.
“And then I talked to a guy the other night here in Indianapolis and he thought if the Bears were in a position where they’d pay down part of the deal that maybe, possibly it could sort of match the template that was used in the Von Miller deal between Denver and LA. But there could be a team that values Khalil Mack more. I don’t think the Bears are in a spot where they’re going to get a first-round pick back for Khalil Mack. I could be wrong, but that’s just my assessment of the situation right now. And who knows? Maybe Matt Eberflus wants to make him the centerpiece of this new 43 scheme.
“If you got a second- and a third-rounder for him, just hypothetically speaking, now the Bears would have two second-round picks and two third-round picks and you’d feel better about their chance to get some guys who could come in and help them get this thing rolling.”
Former Bears GM Ryan Pace traded two first-round picks, among others, to the Las Vegas Raiders for Mack back in 2018, and he’s been a pillar of Chicago’s defense ever since. But given Mack’s $30.2 million cap hit in 2022, the Bears could free up $17.8 million in cap space with a post-June 1 trade.
At the same time, you have to wonder if the Bears would be willing to trade someone like Mack, who they could build Matt Eberflus’ defense around. Then again, the time to trade Mack would be now.
Following Mack’s dominant 2018 campaign, he’s failed to live up to that performance in the three years that followed. He’s failed to eclipse 10 sacks on the season while Robert Quinn set a new single-season franchise sack record with 18.5 last year.
Mack played just seven games last season after suffering a foot injury that required season-ending surgery. In fact, Mack has been banged up for a good portion of the season for the last few years. But when he’s healthy, he’s been dominant.
The Bears could certainly trade Mack to acquire a second-round and late-round selection. But that decision falls on Poles.
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