4 moves the Chargers can make to free up $62 million in cap space

Trade Khalil Mack to free up $23.25 million

This is the hard part of the business. Khalil Mack is coming off a career year and in a perfect world the Chargers would be able to keep him on the roster. But considering the team's salary-cap situation, and the fact that Mack has the second-largest non-quarterback cap hit in the sport, it is time to move on.

While it is a bummer to move on from a player after a career year, Mack's career year did have a positive impact on the Chargers. Prior to the 2023 season it looked like Mack was destined to be a cap casualty as he continued to get older.

But after a breakout season, it is not hard to come up with a list of teams that could be interested in trading for Mack. There are several teams in the league that need to add an edge rusher, can afford his base salary in 2024, and have the draft picks to send.

A lot of Chargers fans push back on this idea but we all have to be realistic about the situation. As great as Mack was in 2023, he is going to be 33 years old in 2024. We see it all the time: players on the other side of 30 regress without warning, and are much more likely to get hurt as well.

It is better to be a year too early than a year too late with these decisions. It is far better to trade Mack for a mid-round pick than the alternative, which would be trading multiple years of a younger Joey Bosa. Yes, Bosa has been more injury-prone in recent years, but he has a better chance of being healthy in 2024 than Mack.