As of this morning, Khalil Mack is listed as OUT versus the San Francisco 49ers. Mack has been dealing with a foot injury since Week 2 and has not practiced throughout most weeks. It has not held him back much as he has six sacks through seven weeks. Last week versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the first game that the Chicago Bears did not record a sack. This is the opposite of what happened in 2020 when the Bears were able to rock Tom Brady and secure a 20-19 win.
In that game, Khalil Mack came away with two sacks and the team recorded three. This does not include all of the other QB hits that took place as well. This season, Brady stayed clean and it showed as they dominated the Bears with a 38-3 victory that included four passing touchdowns by Tom Brady.
San Francisco is not the easiest team to sack and with Khalil Mack out and Akiem Hicks not likely to return, it will be even more difficult. We also do not know at this time if Robert Quinn will be able to return from the reserve/COVID-19 list. If he is out for Sunday, then there is little to no chance that the likes of Trevis Gipson, Eddie Goldman, Mario Edwards and Bilal Nichols pressure the quarterback consistently. The 49ers are only allowing 1.8 sacks per game (9th best in the NFL).
If Khalil Mack heads to injured reserve, then the Chicago Bears should be sellers
As of right now, the medical staff is still determining the severity of Khalil Mack’s injury. Right now, there is still a possibility that Mack misses the next three weeks as he heads to injured reserve. Luckily the Chicago Bears have a bye week in Week 10, but if Mack is going to miss both this week and the Week 9 matchup versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, then they might as well be prepared to start selling off assets.
"We're working through everything with Khalil," Matt Nagy says when asked about the NFL Network report regarding Khalil Mack and his foot injury. He said that no decisions have been made.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) October 27, 2021
Recently I got flack from Greg Gabriel on Twitter for calling out Chicago for not selling either Nick Foles or Andy Dalton to the New York Jets when the Jets traded for Joe Flacco instead.
Takes two teams to make a deal, meaning the other team has to have a want for Foles. In situations like this, Pace doesn’t make the call…. He has to wait for the phone to ring. Just the way it works
— Greg Gabriel (@ggabefootball) October 25, 2021
Here’s the thing. Obviously, it takes two teams to make a deal happen. However, the comment about “Pace doesn’t make the call…he has to wait for the phone to ring. Just the way it works” is complete bull. Teams find ways to shop players all the time, even if through agents and the media. And honestly, Ryan Pace may not get the same return if he is calling to sell assets, but in cases like these two quarterbacks, even getting a seventh-round pick would be a win at this point.
If the Bears lose Khalil Mack for three weeks, Ryan Pace and the Bears need to be honest with themselves and should be making it known that certain players are available before the trade deadline. These players should include Akiem Hicks, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Danny Trevathan, Eddie Goldman, Robert Quinn, Jimmy Graham and maybe most importantly Allen Robinson.