{"id":221050,"date":"2025-03-09T13:13:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T17:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=221050"},"modified":"2025-03-09T13:13:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T17:13:33","slug":"lions-could-make-surprise-move-for-chargers-star-khalil-mack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/03\/09\/lions-could-make-surprise-move-for-chargers-star-khalil-mack\/","title":{"rendered":"Lions Could Make Surprise Move For Chargers Star"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

One of the Lions’ biggest off-season priorities is strengthening their defense. Injuries to the Lions\u2019 starting defense made the team vulnerable. But the Lions acquiring Khalil Mack<\/a> from the Chargers could be an answer.<\/p>\r\n

Lions Could Make Surprise Move For Chargers Star<\/h1>\r\n

Despite losing elite EDGE rusher Aidan Hutchinson<\/a> in week 6, the Lions defense held up remarkably well over the next several games. Credit Aaron Glenn and Brad Holmes’ next-man-up strategy for finding players who rose to the challenge and covered the gaps. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Lions Next-Man-Up Strategy<\/h3>\r\n

But as the injuries accumulated, the Lions’ defense began to show cracks. An inordinately high number of ongoing injuries to the Lions\u2019 starting lineup exposed the defense’s vulnerability. \u00a0The defense allowed big chunks of yardage, but held tough in the red zone and often the opposition failed to score. But the Lions’ \u201cbend but don\u2019t break\u201d game plan crumbled in the face of the league\u2019s toughest offenses when the defense couldn’t contain the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders.

To ascend to the next level, the Lions must shut down an offensive challenge before the team reaches the red zone, preferably at the line of scrimmage. But without Hutchinson in the lineup, they couldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\r\n

Lions Hutchinson An Elite Talent<\/h3>\r\n

Hutchinson\u2019s imposing 6\u20197\u201d 268 lb. build is the bulwark of the Lions defense. Before his injury, Hutchinson was the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year with 12 solo tackles, 7.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in five games. But he can\u2019t do it all himself. He needs a complimentary partner on the field.

The acquisition of elite talent, Za\u2019Darius Smith<\/a>, is potentially a perfect partner for Hutchinson. However, the Lions haven’t had the opportunity to pair the two together. But regardless, the one flaw in that equation is the team is again left vulnerable if one goes down with an injury. In addition to Smith, the Lions defense needs another top-tier talent. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Why the Draft Might Not Be the Answer For the Lions<\/h3>\r\n

While plenty of attractive EDGE Candidates are available in this year’s draft, rookies need time to adjust to the rigors of playing in the NFL. There is always a learning curve and sometimes even the best draft prospects take time to gain traction.

Adding a premiere veteran talent who can make an immediate impact is preferable. But veteran free agents cost money. The Lions have approximately $51 million in their salary cap this year. That money is quickly being depleted by contract extensions to key Lions personnel. Extending Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph, Alex Anzalone, and other foundational players remain top priorities. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Why Khalil Mack Could Be The Answer for the Lions<\/h3>\r\n

Nonetheless, if the Lions were to add a premiere talent like Mack, it could be a game changer. The fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft by the Oakland Raiders is an exceptional NFL defensive star. A superior athlete who can play both EDGE and outside linebacker at a Pro Bowl level, Mack would be an outstanding addition to Kelvin Sheppard’s defense.

Named the Defensive Rookie of the Year, Mack made an immediate impact with the Raiders. Mack\u2019s second year in the NFL was equally impressive with 77 tackles, (57 solo) 15 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two pass defenses. He was the recipient of the Butkus Award in 2016. \u00a0Mack was named the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year in his third year with 73 tackles (54 solo), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three pass defenses. Mack also had a pick-six return for a touchdown that season.\u00a0

In 2017, he recorded 78 tackles (61 solo), 10.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three pass deflections. Mack ranked fifth in the league on the NFL\u2019s Top 100 Players list and the highest-rated defensive lineman. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Mack Makes His Mark With the Bears\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

However, the following year, things soured with the Raiders and a pre-season contract holdout ensued. After three straight Pro Bowl seasons with the Raiders, Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears in September 2018. He became the highest-paid defensive lineman in history. Signing a six-year $141 million contract with the Bears that guaranteed $90 million, Mack was set to make his mark in the windy city.<\/p>\r\n

In his first season with the Bears in 2018, Mack proved instrumental as\u00a0<\/span>Chicago locked up the NFC North division title.\u00a0He finished<\/span> second in the Defensive Player of the Year Award and was named to his fourth Pro Bowl. Mack ranked third amongst his fellow players in the NFL Top 100 Players List and received his second Butkus Award.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Mack would go on to have two more Pro Bowl seasons with the Bears in 2019 and 2020.\u00a0 <\/span>In week three of the 2021 season, Mack suffered an unspecified foot injury. Although he didn\u2019t participate in practice sessions, he played through the injury over the next four weeks. Mack continued to play at a premiere level, recording six sacks in the first six games of the season. However, in week 7, the Bears announced Mack was on injured reserve following season-ending surgery. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Mack Traded To The Chargers\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n

In March of 2022, the Bears traded Mack to the Chargers. In his first season with Los Angeles, he finished the year with 50 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles, defended two passes, and had two fumble recoveries. Mack recorded his 100th career sack in his second year. He ended the year with 74 tackles, a career-best 17 sacks, 10 passes defended, and five forced fumbles. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Mack was again named to the Pro Bowl in 2024 for the seventh time with 39 tackles, six sacks, nine passes defended, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.<\/p>\r\n

Obstacles to Lions Acquisition of Mack\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

The L.A. Chargers recently released five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Joey Bosa<\/a> after nine seasons with the team. Presumably, that would indicate the Chargers have no intention of relinquishing Mack, their other elite defensive player. It could also signal that they are trying to free up cap space to re-sign Mack to a new contract.<\/p>\r\n

For the Lions to acquire him, it will not come cheap. If the rumors are to be believed, Mack’s seeking a three-year contract extension in the neighborhood of $70 million. At 34 years of age, that’s a significant long-term dollar commitment. However, Mack is not just any player. As evidenced by his Pro Bowl year last season, he’s an elite player whose age does not appear to have slowed him down. But if the Lions are lucky enough to negotiate a trade for Mack, he could be the key to their Super Bowl season. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Injuries to the Lions\u2019 starting defense made the team vulnerable. But the Lions acquiring Khalil Mack from the Chargers could be an answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5208,"featured_media":221555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[7642,7467,358,7429],"class_list":["post-221050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lions","category-chargers","tag-chargers-featured","tag-detroit-lions-news","tag-khalil-mack","tag-los-angeles-chargers-news"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221050"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221556,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221050\/revisions\/221556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}