Chicago Bears: Khalil Mack trade puts them all in for 2018, future
The Chicago Bears are reportedly trading for star edge rusher Khail Mack, clearly putting them in a position to make a leap in 2018 and be contenders soon.
When Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace traded up one spot in the 2017 NFL Draft to get his quarterback in Mitch Trubisky, he made a few things clear. The first was that he was willing to be bold to get players that he thought would best benefit the Bears. And the other was that he planned on building something special in Chicago. In regards to Khalil Mack, it would appear those things have shown up again from Pace.
According to a report on Saturday morning from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, an agreement is in place that will send Mack to the Bears. As this is not official yet and still in the early stages, we don’t yet know details about the deal. But all reports right now indicate that this is indeed happening. (Update: Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears are sending two first-round picks and something more to Oakland).
Particularly with the injury history of Leonard Floyd, the Bears needed consistent help rushing the passer off the edge. Not only does Mack give them help, but he gives them arguably the best pass rusher in the league, something they need playing in a division where they have to face Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford every year. Moreover, if Floyd can stay healthy, that’s a potentially lethal combo between him and Mack.
Given what the Raiders’ asking price (two first-round picks) reportedly was in regards to Mack, it’s clear that the Bears are forking over a lot of capital to make a deal happen. And with that, they are making their intentions clear: this isn’t a team of the future — it’s a team for now and the future.
With the arrival of new head coach Matt Nagy in addition to big weapons like Allen Robinson and Trey Burton, the Bears were expected to at least be a tough opponent this season, if not a sleeper. What’s more, their defense was again supposed to be solid as Pace has done well building a decent group.
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However, with the addition of Mack, you could viably make a case that they could be a Wild Card team this season should everything break right. Even in the ultra competitive NFC, it’s in the cards. And considering that they’ll almost surely lock him up with a long-term extension after acquiring him (the reason he’s being traded), that’s going to be the case for years to come.