Last Sunday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Khalil Mack was a name to watch in trade talks. That report was first given on a pregame show before the Chargers fell to 0-4 with a loss against Seattle. This weekend, the Chargers will look to avoid their first 0-5 start in 23 years.
On top of it being a divisional game against the Broncos this week, there's an added pressure for the team to stabilize their season. If they don't, trade rumors for certain players will continue to intensify. And there's now more fuel to the fire for a possible deal involving Mack.
The Khalil Mack Chargers trade rumors continue to get louder and louder.
Earlier this week, Tom Pelissero brought up the idea of a possible Mack trade if the Chargers are 0-6 at their BYE. The rumor mill continued to churn today with a new report from The Athletic's Jonathan Jones. Jones reports that multiple league sources are monitoring the possibility of a Bears reunion with Mack.
Why does the deal potentially make sense for both sides? For the Chargers, they'd get draft compensation as they fall out of contention. It's also possibly Mack's final season. For the Bears, they need EDGE help and would take on less than $6 million of Mack's $18 million cap hit.
Mack has come alive in the Chargers' last three games with 12 pressures and 3 sacks. At 35 years old, he's led a defensive turnaround for LA after they struggled in Week 1.
Jones brought up this week's game against the Broncos being a turning point for how the Chargers approach the trade deadline. If the Chargers are 2-4 at the BYE and have a resurgence of sorts, the odds of Mack being dealt probably decrease. But 1-5 or 0-6 at their BYE week would essentially be the end of the season.
Truthfully, it's sad that the season has gotten to the point where trading Mack is the best option. When he re-signed with the team in March, it was in part because he believed the Chargers gave him a solid shot at one last playoff run. Now just four games in, there are rumblings of the Chargers trading away a core piece of their teams' identity.
Jones reports that he spoke to two front office sources on different teams that valued Mack at a fifth-round pick. Given Mack's age, a day three pick for the Chargers is probably about right. But it would be nice if Los Angeles could create a biddding war to bump that up to a fourth-rounder.
The Chargers have plenty of time over the next month to figure out what they want to do with Mack. But with losses (and injuries) piling up, it feels like they're heading for a trade deadline centered around the future Hall of Famer. If Jim Harbaugh's squad doesn't get a win vs. Denver this week, the very loud rumors are likely to crystalize into an actual trade.
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