Is Khalil Mack a Realistic Target for the Chicago Bears?

Could the Chicago Bears realistically land Oakland Raiders Edge Khalil Mack?

Khalil Mack is not happy.

The Oakland Raiders star pass rusher is in the final year of his rookie contract (his fifth-year option) and he wants a major extension. As it turns out, the Raiders aren’t in any rush to give him the money he wants.

New head coach Jon Gruden appears to have taken a hard stance with Mack. Reports are that Gruden and Mack haven’t even spoken although Gruden denies those reports. When asked about Mack’s importance to the defense earlier in training camp, Gruden responded, “We weren’t very good last year on defense with Khalil Mack.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Mack is arguably the most impactful defensive player in the NFL. It seems like a no-brainer to pay the pass rusher top dollar, but the Raiders seemed convinced that Mack will buckle and report to camp. Mack seems steadfast in his holdout however.

Mack has already accrued four full NFL seasons which means he can still head to unrestricted free agency after this year, but at the same time, the Raiders have the ultimate trump card in the form of the franchise tag.

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The Raiders want Mack to play out this season, and assuming his play warrants it, they can use the franchise tag on him in 2019 and have exclusive negotiating rights with him to try to hammer out a long-term deal. If they are unable to reach a long-term deal, Mack will be forced to play the season on the franchise tag. In fact, the Raiders could franchise Mack again in 2020 and in essence keep him on a series of three one-year contracts that would pay Mack about $55 million over those three years, but give him zero leverage in the process.

Mack doesn’t want to play the franchise tag game that Kirk Cousins and now Le’Veon Bell were forced to play. He wants his extension now and seems willing to dig his feet into the ground to get it. In the end, Mack is guaranteed $14 million if he plays this year, so the question is if he’s willing to walk away from all that money to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

If the Raiders are determined not to pay him this year and Mack is determined to sit out, at that point, the Raiders only play might be to trade him. Otherwise Mack could, in theory, sit out this season and force Oakland not to franchise him and let him walk away for nothing in return.

Mack will receive a huge amount of compensation if the Raiders make him available. The negotiating price will start with two first round picks. Mack is an elite defender at the sport’s second most important position. He’s a leader on his team and he doesn’t get in trouble off the field either. He’s the perfect player to break the bank both in contract talks and trade compensation.

We’re at 500 words into this article and haven’t mentioned the Chicago Bears so let’s change gears here. It’s no secret, the Bears are in desperate need for help on the edge. The 2019 free agency class and draft class appears to be very good, so the Bears should be able to significantly improve that position next season, but that’s certainly not going to help them this year where they have a group that includes injury-prone Leonard Floyd and very little else.

If Mack becomes available, it’s a safe bet that Ryan Pace will pick up the phone and discuss compensation. The Bears currently don’t have their second round pick next year because of the Anthony Miller trade, and if the Bears trade their firsts in both 2019 and 2020, they might even have to throw in a 2019 three to make their offer better than the rest of the league’s.

Is it worth the trade-off of having Mack and not having a day 1 or day 2 draft pick at all in 2019? While that may seem steep, that answer is yes. Mack is the type of player that elevates everyone else on the defense. Suddenly Floyd is a complimentary pass rusher and won’t be double teamed. Suddenly Akiem Hicks won’t be the only focus for offensive coordinators. If Roquan Smith develops into the player the Bears think he will be, the Bears would have the best linebacking corps in the NFL and a defensive unit that becomes top five, perhaps even top three. He’s that good.

The ball is really in Mack’s court. The Raiders have decided not to pay him this year. Is Mack willing to walk away from $14 million? If he is, the Raiders will be forced to trade him and the Bears will absolutely call. If Mack decides that walking away from that much guaranteed money is too much of a personal risk for him. He’ll be in Oakland within two weeks and he’ll be franchised in 2019 and off the Bears radar completely.

It’s impossible to determine if Mack will become available, but if the Raiders are foolish enough to start taking offers, Pace is aggressive enough to make the headline, “Mack traded to Bears” a definite possibility.