Bears have clear and obvious reason not to trade Khalil Mack

Though Khalil Mack has immense trade value, here is why the Chicago Bears would be foolish to trade the future Pro Football Hall of Fame pass rusher.

It might be a new era of Chicago Bears football, but any notion of trading Khalil Mack coming off a down year is absolutely nonsensical.

Mack missed 10 games last season, failing to earn a Pro Bowl nod for the first time since his rookie year out of Buffalo with the Silver and Black. Still, Mack managed to record six sacks in seven games for a Bears team that was going nowhere. Though very much in his prime, trading Mack would result in a $24 million dead cap hit for 2022. Ryan Poles will not want that one bit.

While the Bears could technically get $6 million more in available cap space, keep in mind that new head coach Matt Eberflus specializes in coaching up linebackers.

Khalil Mack trade rumors: Chicago Bears would be foolish to entertain offers

Though it remains to be seen what type of head coach Eberflus will be for Chicago, he asserted himself as a strong defensive mind for years on the Indianapolis Colts staff and with the Dallas Cowboys before that. There is a direct correlation to Colts linebacker Darius Leonard becoming a defensive superstar and Eberflus calling the shots on that side of the football for Frank Reich.

The dream is to end up with game-changing players like Mack. Chicago is fortunate that the previous Las Vegas Raiders administration did not know what it was doing and shipped the perennial All-Pro to the Windy City. Though he may account for the highest cap hit on the Bears roster at $30.15 million, but keep in mind quarterback Justin Fields is playing on his rookie deal.

Even if there is a new regime in town, now is not the time for the Bears to blow the whole thing up. They can rebuild, but they can do it the right way. The reason Eberflus and Poles took these jobs is to work with budding superstars like Fields and generational football talents like Mack. Even if the Bears got a Herschel Walker offer for Mack, it is hard to see them winning that trade.

While the Bears could get a ton of future draft compensation, the dead cap hit is too punitive here.