Chicago Bears Add To Possibilities By Trading Khalil Mack To Chargers

Ryan Poles didn’t wait long to make his first major move as the Bears’ general manager. He is trading six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Kahlil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers as a way to add flexibility to rebuild the aging roster that hasn’t produced a winning season since 2018.

Look for Poles to focus on the offensive side of the ball this off-season, improving the cast around second-year quarterback Justin Fields.

The Bears will clear some salary cap space and add a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a sixth-rounder in 2023 in the Mack trade, which is contingent on the 31-year-old passing a physical.

Mack is only halfway through a six-year, $141-million deal he signed after being acquired from the Raiders. He restructured his deal before the 2021 season, giving then-GM Ryan Pace added room under the salary cap, but as a result was carrying a $30.2-million cap hit this season, up from $14.6 million last season.

Combined with an increased cap hit for All-Pro rusher Robert Quinn, Poles has been limited in the free agent players he could consider. The Bears had about $26 million in cap space before the Mack trade but will need more than half of that to deal internal contract situations, most notably involving linebacker Roquan Smith and running back David Montgomery.

Trading Mack is hardly a panacea for Poles. The Bears will have $24 million on the books for Mack as a dead-money assignment. But every little bit help when you’re trying to rebuild an offense around a quarterback longer on potential than production.

Both the additional cap room and the second-round pick could be used to address a major deficit at wide receiver. Allen Robinson is heading into free agency, which leaves the Bears in need of at least two additional receivers to play alongside Darnell Mooney.

Poles is aware that the offensive line requires major attention. It’s believed the team is working toward re-signing guard James Daniels before the free-agent period opens next week. He would love to make a major signing himself but has been closely studying college prospects to find impact blockers in the draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs credited Poles with pushing for them to draft Oklahoma lineman Creed Humphrey in the second round of last year’s draft. He developed into a key for the line that protected Patrick Mahomes.

Mack was a monster for the Bears in 2018, when they went 12-4 and seemed poised for a post-season run before losing a Wild Card game to Philadelphia on a missed field goal that hit both the upright and the crossbar. He joined Akiem Hicks — likely to leave the team as a free agent — in anchoring the defense in recent seasons but missed nine games after requiring surgery to repair an injured foot last year.

The emergence of Smith and the strong play from Quinn may have influenced Poles’ decision to deal Mack. It must be a painful trade for Poles to make but he wasn’t hired to maintain the status quo.

The deal hasn’t been announced by the teams. It was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.