MHJ could put Khalil Mack back in Chicago before the trade deadline, and the idea lands with real weight because the Bears are 3-1 while the Chargers sit at 0-4. Mack, 35, has three sacks in four games this year, which is the kind of production that would give the Bears immediate edge help if a move comes together.
The numbers explain why this keeps circulating. Mack has a base salary of $8 million in 2026, with $5.77 million remaining in pay after this week. The Bears have about $9 million in cap space, enough to make a deal workable on paper if the return fits both sides.
Khalil Mack in Chicago
This is not a random link to an old name. The Bears gave up two first-round picks, one third-round pick, and one sixth-round pick to get Mack in 2018, so any reunion would carry the memory of that price tag. Jonathan Jones of The Athletic raised the possibility that Mack could be making his way back to Chicago before the trade deadline, with the trade deadline coming the Tuesday after Week 9.
That previous trade also sets the market pressure now. If the Chargers decide to move him, they would be weighing a veteran pass rusher who is still getting to the quarterback against the value of the return, and the Bears would be asking whether one short-term boost on the edge justifies another aggressive swing.
The Chargers and the Bears
The complication is simple: Mack may only want to go to Chicago, and that can shrink the field of buyers. When only one destination makes sense for the player, the selling team has less room to push up the price, which is why any talk of compensation hangs over this story.
So the practical question now is not whether Mack can help. It is what the Chargers would require to let him go, and whether the Bears would meet that number before 31 days run off the clock.
