By: Rian Long Khalil Mack is known as one of the most dominant defensive players in today’s NFL. While wearing black and silver from 2014-2017 with the Oakland Raiders, Mack was a three-time Pro Bowler from 2015-2017, a two-time First Team All Pro in 2015 and 2016 and the Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL in 2016. Based off of Mack’s talent and production, he demanded the money he thought he deserved. The Raiders picked up the fifth-year option on Mack’s contract before the 2017 season began, but entering the 2018 season, Mack demanded one of the biggest contracts for a defensive player in NFL history. The Raiders, on the other hand, didn’t budge, forcing Khalil Mack to holdout through the entire preseason because they weren’t going to give Mack the money he wanted. As the season rapidly approached, rumors were flying around with what was going to happen between the Raiders and Khalil Mack. Finally, on September 1st, the Chicago Bears came calling, offering one of the biggest blockbuster trades to the Raiders for Mack. The Bears, a franchise who has struggled in recent years, but seem to have a bright future, offered the Raiders a first-round pick in 2019 and 2020 for the superstar and a second-round pick in 2020. Mack was finally a happy man, signing a six-year deal worth $141 million, including $90 million fully guaranteed with Chicago after the trade. This blockbuster extension marked Mack as the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. Being acquired by the Bears only eight days before they opened their season against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, Mack had little time to learn his new playbook. At an indroductionary press conference for Mack, Bears head coach Matt Nagy had a little concern with Mack needing to be rushed into the new system. “Then we’ll just kind of have to listen to his feedback [about] where he’s at,” Nagy continued. “We told him: communication is imperative here. It’s not like being able to plug somebody in on a Madden game and just say, ‘Go sack the quarterback.’ There’s some planning that goes into it. We’ll see where he’s at and hopefully he’s able to go out there and play well. But it will be more of a day-by-day thing,” Coach Nagy stated. Mack prepared with his new teammates and studied his playbook well for the Bears in their week one matchup against the Packers on Sunday, September 9th, 2018. The Bears got off to a tremendous start against the Packers, taking a 17-0 lead into halftime at Lambeau Field. The fast start was helped out by Mack making his presence felt, with a forced fumble sack and an interception returned for a touchdown. Even with Mack’s strong defensive efforts, an Aaron Rodgers’ led comeback in the second half gave the Packers the 24-23 win over their rival Bears in week one. Looking for positives after a loss is always common, especially early in the season, and if the Bears want to stay positive and look for a reason to have hope to succeed this season, the answer to that is number fifty-two: Khalil Mack.
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Dylan EdelmanWilson Senior Archives
February 2020
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