Remember back in 2018 when the Bears landed Khalil Mack from the then Oakland Raiders. The Bears defense in 2018 resembled some of those great defenses they had in the past like in 2006 and I will dare to say even the ’85 Bears with the addition of Mack. The move by then General Manager Ryan Pace looked like a golden move at the time, a game changer. The Raiders at the time welcomed back Jon Gruden as their head coach on a ten year deal. Khalil Mack wanted a contract extension. Gruden’s name would be dragged through the mud by agreeing to deal Mack to Chicago. Gruden wanted draft capital as he knew his roster had too many holes. Bears gave Mack a six year 141 Million dollar extension and 90 of that was guaranteed. Bears would have a magic year but lose to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs by the double doink of the field goal kicked by Cody Parky trying to end the game to put Chicago into the second round of the playoffs. The Bears had a very good defense that post-season which could have carried them to the Superbowl if they did win that game. We never will know as the doink is still ringing in the ears of many Bears fans. After that the Bears would completely fall apart as they did make the playoffs in 2020 by sneaking in the back door. Gruden’s Raiders team would make the playoffs without him in Vegas. Now the Bears are the one unloading Mack, and the Chargers have that Ryan Pace feeling like Mack is the piece they need to get them over the hump.

The Bears have a new Sheriff in town at the General Manager position. From the Kansas City Chiefs organization, Ryan Poles is guy who’s not messing around. The Bears roster is riddled with holes like a Russian tank shot up by the Ukrainian Army. The fired Ryan Pace who used his draft picks like Monopoly money, or maybe toilet paper is a better comparison. Pace at the time gave the Raiders a 2019 first and 6th round draft pick for Khalil Mack. As well as another 1st round pick in 2020 with a 3rd rounder. Bears would get a 2nd round pick back with a conditional 7th rounder. That is quite the large draft capital on one guy who lasted 4 seasons in Chicago. Bears do not have a first round draft pick in 2022 because they used that to get Justin Fields last year. The new Ryan, Ryan Poles has his work cut out for him. Poles will get two draft picks back from the LA Chargers for Mack’s services. Bears will get the Chargers second round pick this season’s draft and a sixth round pick in 2023. The best part of the deal is the Bears will clear the rest of Mack’s contract off the books which is 84.9 Million over the next three seasons. Bears can add a lot of pieces with that kind of money now available. It shows you how the Bears do Math. The team gave up a boat load to bring Mack to Chicago. Then they sell off the cow for a can of baked beans.

Khalil Mack was 27 years old when he arrived in Chicago. Mack played in 53 games over his 4 seasons as a Midway Monster racking up 36 sacks. Mack is one of the best in the league at the strip sack of the quarterback as he forced 14 fumbles in a Bears uniform. Mack, one of the best edge rushers in the league, had 52 hits with 35 tackles for loss in 53 games in Chicago. Add two interceptions as well to the mix. Last year Mack only played in seven games for the Bears as he had a season-ending injury. In those 7 games, Mack had six sacks with 15 solo tackles. In 8 seasons Mack has played in 117 games in the NFL playing four years with both the Raiders and Bears out of Buffalo University. He has registered 76.5 sacks so far in his career.

At the age of 31 years old, pairing Khalil Mack up with Joey Bosa another star edge rusher in the league, gives LA a scary tandem at the bookends of the defensive line. In the AFC West with all the great quarterbacks in place, Chargers could have a scary front seven along with their star quarterback Justin Herbert and a talented offense. Can they be the team to peak at the right time like the 2018 Bears? Mack would reunite with his former coach Brandon Staley, who is the Chargers head coach. Chargers would not give up a lot for Mack’s services, but they will have to pay him. Both Mack and Bosa are very talented edge rushers but can they stay on the field together for the long haul? Both pass rushers have missed games in their careers. Will Mack be the same player when he returns from last season’s foot injury that required surgery? Chargers can cut Mack in 2023 if this trade does not work out and save 16.9 Million off the cap. If Chargers wait until 2024, they save 20.3 Million off the cap if they cut him. Bosa is probably due for an extension soon as well. Chargers may be eyeballing next season only with this move landing Mack from Chicago as it only costed them a two picks.

For the Chicago Bears, this is typical stuff we see happen all the time. I remember drinking the Kool-Aid when the Bears made the big trade that year to land Khalil Mack. After seeing Mack play in the first game of the 2018 season versus the Packers going after Aaron Rodgers even though the team lost, I did not think about those first round picks being given up. I did not see that offensive guru, the Bears new head coach Matt Nagy, would screw up Mitch Trubisky. Then Ryan Pace throwing away picks. Then any of Ryan Pace’s first or second round picks turning into busts for the Bears, but other teams found the diamond in the ruff with some of these guys. It was a collection of dumb moves, bad deals, and horrible coaching that put the Bears into this position today. Maybe Khalil Mack is just a great player that plays for bad teams. We will see if the Chargers do well and for how long? The new GM for the Bears, Ryan Poles, should not stop dealing. I would get rid of all these big money guys, collect draft capital to use them wisely, and construct a nice team around some of the core younger guys on the roster. Watching Mack play four seasons with Chicago was awesome. Maybe Roquan Smith will be that next Bears stud. At the end, the Mack ran out of diesel & so did the Bears.