The Green Bay Packers might not be the most active team in free agency. But when it goes to the market, the impact tends to be real-just saw what happened last year, with the additions of safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs.
This year, the edge position is a need, and help could be on the way. ESPN's Matt Bowen made an interesting list of the top 50 free agents and ideal landing spots, and he indicated the Packers as an ideal fit for edge defender Khalil Mack, who played the last three seasons for the Los Angeles Chargers.
"The Packers adding Mack to pair with Rashan Gary would boost their pass rush off the edges. Mack had six sacks and 41 pressures in 2024 with the Chargers. And even though he's turning 34 this week, he's still a three-down force with the steady play speed to heat up the pocket."
Interestingly, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst tried to trade for Mack in his first offseason on the job, in 2018, but the defensive end was moved from the Oakland Raiders to the Chicago Bears. In 2022, he was traded again, this time to the Chargers.
Khalil Mack will be 34 next week, so he obviously is in a much different phase of his career and is certainly not a long-term solution. Nevertheless, the former Defensive Player of the Year is still an impactful player.
Even though Mack played one fewer game than Rashan Gary in 2024, he had more total pressures (49 vs 47 from Gary). That means Mack, at 33, would have led Green Bay in pressures this past season.
Money
According to Spotrac, Khalil Mack is projected to receive a three-year, $70.9 million contract in free agency, a relevant $23.6 million yearly average.
The structure will probably end up being different, though. It's unlikely that someone would be willing to give Mack a deal through his age 36 season. More likely, it will be a short-term deal, especially because he briefly contemplated retirement after the 2024 season.
The Packers have invested a lot of resources at the edge position, but results have been underwhelming. Rashan Gary is a first-round pick and received a four-year, $96 million extension. So far, the performance hasn't matched the cost.
The group also has former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, and youngster Brenton Cox Jr., who impressed last year with more snaps after Preston Smith got traded away to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Moreover, Arron Mosby is an exclusive-rights free agent, which means the Packers can keep him around with a minimum tender.
