It has been just over a month since the Oakland Raiders made the decision to move on from All-Pro defensive end Khalil Mack in a trade with the Chicago Bears.
Prior to that move being made, there was plenty of interest from around the league in Mack's serviced from just about every team. The San Francisco 49ers were among those that had expressed their desire to acquire him as general manager John Lynch recently stated that they had made a push to land the Pro Bowler. (h/t Kirk Larrabee of 247 Sports)
“I think each and every situation is different,” Lynch said. “I think we’ve spoken, we’ve been in honest in terms of our involvement in each of those. I would tell you – and both these players are on other rosters, so at some point we’ve got to move forward – but Khalil Mack, we made every effort to try to secure his services. He wasn’t a free agent. It was a trade scenario, and we went in there, and we went in there hard. We did everything. Our offer was very similar to the one that ultimately won out. I don’t know what went into the Raiders’ mindset in terms of where they sent him, but that was one we knew we had a game changer. On the other situations, there was a lot that went into that at. At some point we chose to withdraw our interest there.
The opportunity to possibly acquire a game-changing talent like Mack doesn't occur too often in the NFL as he has proven to be a generational talent. His sudden availability was something that the 49ers and many other teams had jumped to make a move to land but it simply came down to what the Raiders believed they could most for him.
The Chicago Bears had made the most appealing offer that saw them move a 2019 and 2020 first-round picks as well as a 2020 third-round pick and a 2019 sixth-round selection. This has now put in place a cornerstone talent on their defensive front that they have already locked up to a six-year, $141 million extension.
Mack has already proven to be well worth the haul as he's playing like a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate as he's second in the league with 5.0 sacks and tied for first with four forced fumbles that have helped the Bears hold one of the top defenses in the NFL. This revelation from Lynch just gives more credence to the type of talent that Mack has become.
Follow Us
Subscribe
