Chicago Bears Week One: How much will Khalil Mack play?

How often will Khalil Mack see the field in his much anticipated Chicago Bears debut?

When the Chicago Bears kick off their 2018 season against the Green Bay Packers it feels as though it will be the start of a new era. There is excitement for debuts of a plethora of new players, none bigger than super star edge rusher Khalil Mack.

While Mack is not coming off of an injury, like newcomer Allen Robinson, it appears as though Mack will be more limited than Robinson in Week One. While neither has played in the preseason, Mack has not shown up to any training camp sessions.

Coming off of a hold out and a trade, Mack is just trying to get into the swing of things this week. Mack is an elite level talent and is surely in fine shape. However, that is a lot to ask from the player to expect a full game of snaps.

So, how much should be expected from Khalil Mack?

At the very least, more than Roquan Smith. First, Mack is listed as the starter while the rookie who held out has to earn his stripes. It is not unreasonable to see him starting and seeing the majority of the snaps on the first drive.

The team would likely ease him in and out on most drives. However, they would probably like to get him on the field for most third down situations. By the end of the game it would be no surprise to see him playing close to 60% of the teams snaps in this game. That would like be about 35-40 snaps in this game. If that is the case, you can expect big things from Mack moving forward.