The Chicago Bears rose up this season, winning the NFC North for the first time since 2018, making the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and winning a playoff game for the first time since 2010.
But the things that held them back were clear, and the second offseason under Ben Johnson as head coach will be dedicated to fixing them.
On the defensive side of the ball, the pass rush was lackluster. Montez Sweat accounted for 10 of the team's 35 sacks, and the edge rusher with the next-most sacks (Austin Booker) played 10 games.
Via free agency and/or the draft, adding to the defensive line will be a prominent part of the offseason agenda for general manager Ryan Poles. And when it comes down to it, as options are honed in on, nothing should be considered out of bounds.
Bears offered interesting free agent option to help their pass rush
Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports has offered an early potential landing spot for each of the outlet's current top-50 2026 free agents. The Bears are matched with two players, but one easily stood out as more interesting than the other.
"40. EDGEÂ Khalil Mack: Bears"
"Mack makes a return to Chicago, where he starred from 2018-21. The Bears need to juice their pass rush without spending a ton, and Mack fits both."
Mack will turn 35 in February, and he made it clear after the Los Angeles Chargers' playoff loss that he will consider retiring. But that has also become an annual thing at this stage of his career, and he has kept coming back in pursuit of a Super Bowl ring to cap what should be a Hall of Fame career.
At the 2025 NFL Combine, before he re-signed with the Chargers, Chris Emma of 670 The Score reported Mack's possible interest in a return to the Bears.
"Sources believe Mack has interest in a return to Chicago, where he played from 2018-’21. Mack isn't interested in the spotlight, but the vision would be for him to be a complementary piece of the defense, not the star."
Mack's 17 sacks in 2023 for the Chargers looked inflated when you peeled the curtain back and looked at deeper numbers, and that has been proven by his 11.5 sacks over the last two seasons. But he is still getting it done, with a 13.2 percent pass rush win rate this season and a top-12 run defense grade among edge rushers from Pro Football Focus. His overall PFF grade was the 16th-best among edge rushers.
Mack signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Chargers last offseason, and that is where Spotrac currently projects his market value ($18.4 million) on a one-year deal. If he wants to keep playing, he will have suitors, but actually getting that $18 million this time around might be a different story.
Read more: New offseason trade proposal ships Cole Kmet out of Chicago to NFC team
Any interest the Bears have in a reunion with Mack would likely be driven by the price coming in a little lower than $18 million, but no option to boost the pass rush is out of the question right now, and he can find a suitable role back in Chicago.