Three years ago, the Raiders sent pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Bears. Earlier this year, the Raiders reportedly explored bringing Mack back.
According to Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com, the Raiders made a call to Chicago about a potential Mack trade before signing Yannick Ngakoue in free agency.
A trade would have triggered a cap charge for the Bears in excess of $20 million, given Mack’s signing bonus and a 2019 restructuring. The Bears restructured Mack’s deal again in 2021, kicking $12 million more into future years.
It’s unclear whether the Bears simply hung up the phone, or whether any actual discussions occurred. Mack’s holdout and departure created plenty of acrimony, and it clouded Gruden’s first year back with the team. The fact that Gruden would even consider bringing Mack back is surprising. Before a deal would have happened, it would have been critical for the Raiders to know that Mack would have welcomed a return to a team that has since moved from California to Nevada.