Khalil Mack trade hailed as Bears’ smartest offseason move so far

It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason for the Chicago Bears so far, and it’s only March. But no doubt the biggest move — so far — was trading star pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers, which kind of set other things into motion.

For the most part, the move has been met with praise — both on Chicago and Los Angeles’ parts. In fact, Bleacher Report’s Ian Wharton believes it’s been the Bears’ smartest offseason move so far.

Mack’s tenure in Chicago was terrific. In four years, he compiled 36 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, and countless highlights of him dominating blockers. His impact went beyond the raw numbers.

However, the Bears are revamping their roster and clearing off the cap sheet as the Justin Fields-era begins. New general manager Ryan Poles did well to get valuable assets for an aging player with a huge contract.

The Bears acquired a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 sixth-round selection for Mack, which might not seem like a lot considering they traded two first-rounders for Mack back in 2018. But the Chargers also took on the remainder of Mack’s contract.

Sure, the Bears have to eat $24 million in dead money in 2022. But it’s also freed up $28.5 million in salary cap space for 2023, which is when Chicago could start making moves to be a contender.

While trading Mack felt like the official end of the 2018 Bears era, it was a necessary move to get a bad contract off the books and acquire decent compensation from a team looking to contend.