Khalil Mack suffered a scary-looking injury on Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders that had Chargers fans worried about his season being over. Mack collided with teammate Troy Dye and it bent his arm a direction arms are not supposed to bend.
Thankfully, it appears Mack and the Chargers avoided the worst-case scenario. Mack did not suffer the broken arm Chargers fans were worried about, instead suffering a dislocated elbow. According to Ian Rapoport, Mack is expected to be back in a few weeks.
This is great news for the Chargers, who easily could have been forced to prepare for life without Mack this season. Mack is such an integral part of this Chargers defense and the Bolts will get him back when it matters most late in the season.
Chargers get the best Khalil Mack news possible
As great as this news is for Chargers fans, there is still a huge decision the Bolts have to make moving forward. The pass rush looked pitiful without Mack on Monday night and the team may want to bring in external help to boost that room while Mack is out.
It would have been a non-negotiable if Mack was to miss the entire season. There wouldn't have been any nuance to the decision. Los Angeles would have added another pass rusher without thinking twice.
However, with Mack only sidelined a few weeks, adding a pass rusher is not an overwhelming need. The Chargers do not need to bend over backwards to replace him with someone who can keep the pass rush afloat. Instead, the Chargers just need to survive a few weeks without Mack.
That very well could still come via an external addition. There are some veteran options who would boost the pass rush while Mack is out, and make the room better overall once he returns. But instead of trying to force something, the Chargers can let pass-rush help come to them.
Overall, this is the best news Chargers fans could have woken up to on Wednesday morning. The Bolts still have to accept that Mack will be out of commission, but they clearly dodged the nightmare scenario.