This was a surprise.
Getty Khalil Mack of the Chicago Bears was wanted by a surprising AFC team this offseason. Apparently, the Chicago Bears got an intriguing phone call in March leading up to the NFL draft this year. In an August 23 report by Vic Tafur of The Athletic, desperation on defense led Jon Gruden and the Las Vegas Raiders to pick up the phone and call Bears general manager Ryan Pace about the possibility of a reunion with Khalil Mack. The Raiders, of course, infamously traded Mack away to Chicago just before Gruden’s first season with the team in 2018. The Bears sent two first-round picks (2019 and 2020), a third-round pick in 2020 and a sixth-round pick in 2019 to Gruden and company in exchange for Mack. Chicago also signed the superstar pass rusher to a six-year, $141 million contract extension immediately after the trade. It didn’t take long for Gruden to miss Mack, though. Las Vegas had a league-low 13 sacks in 2018, and while they amassed 32 sacks in 2019, the total fell to 21 in 2020. ALL the latest Bears news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Bears newsletter here! Join Heavy on Bears! The Raiders checked on Mack’s availability via trade before they added veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue this spring, Tafur says, but Chicago wasn’t willing to part ways with the All-Pro linebacker.
