Following the Khalil Mack trade saga has been fascinating. Because, on the one hand, there has been plenty of smoke around the possibility of the Bears trading for the player whose departure kicked off the team’s rebuilding cycle. We love it when a story comes full circle around here. But on the other hand, the reports of a return of Mack have been met with reporting hammering home the Los Angeles Chargers’ insistence on not trading Mack or any of their veteran players. If you love NFL trade drama, this storyline is right in your wheelhouse.
And yet, there hadn’t been much explanation as to why the Chargers are operating in this manner. Then I read this from Jonathan Jones, The Athletic’s NFL insider:
“I think one of the things we were all put on this earth, one of the things we were all put on this earth to do, was to handle both success and loss,” Harbaugh said last month when the team was 0-5. “To do that with the same passion and enthusiasm and to show that you belong.
“That it can be turned around and there is winning football, that’s what we’re doing as a team.”
Whether Harbaugh believes that the 0-7 Chargers can rattle off 10 straight wins and make the playoffs doesn’t necessarily matter. But that is clearly his message to his team. To trade away a “pillar” of the team such as Mack or any other top contributor would belie that message.
“Trading away established veterans is contrary to that,” one GM says.
This is similar to the sentiment that NFL insider Ian Rapoport shared in his reporting earlier in the week. Rapoport mentioned how the Chargers like Mack’s veteran presence working with the edge rushers. He also noted Mack’s value to the locker room. I maintain that if the Chargers locker room is being held together by Mack’s presence, then it has bigger problems.
I can’t help but think that Jim Harbaugh is at the heart of this. As a coach, you can understand why he’d want to play this season out and try to win every game left on the schedule. But this is where a strong general manager would get through to the head coach that the future is more important than the present. Perhaps this perfectly captures the hurdles that come when a stubborn head coach is the most powerful person in a football facility.
Sep 20, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack (52) and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu (45) react after a play against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesWhat’s Next for the Bears If the Chargers Don’t Budge?
I find it admirable that the Chargers believe they can turn it around and turn an 0-7 start into an unimaginable playoff run. But I also find their thinking to be short-sighted and an example of organizational malpractice. This is the kind of decision-making that would have me wanting to light things on fire if the Bears did it. Thankfully, they aren’t in that position. Still, this leaves the Bears in something of a pickle.
If the Bears had their heart set on a Khalil Mack reunion, and the Chargers aren’t willing to change their tune, then Chicago’s front office needs to change course. For what it’s worth, there are a handful of edge defenders who could make sense as trade targets. And if deals can’t come to fruition for any of those targets, the team would be wise to pivot to other positions of need — most notably, cornerback. Now is not the time to have a one-track mind.
We’ll dig into some of those names on Monday because our minds are more focused on tonight’s upcoming game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. But when I read the piece linked above at The Athletic, I felt it necessary to share so we could have an explantion to why the Chargers’ mindset is what it is ahead of the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline.
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