The Green Bay Packers could stick it to the Chicago Bears and bring one of their former superstars back to the NFC North next season if they decide to pursue more pass-rushing help with their ample cap space in 2025 NFL free agency.
Khalil Mack — a four-time All-Pro and 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year — will become a free agent for the first time in his 11-season career when his contract with the Los Angeles Chargers expires at the start of the 2025 league year in March. While Mack has spent the past three seasons in L.A., he is only just now playing out the end of the six-year, $141 million contract he signed with the Bears following his trade in 2018.
Mack will turn 34 before the start of free agency in March, but he has made the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster in each of the last three seasons for the Chargers and remains a high-level pass rusher capable of bringing a meaningful spark to the trenches of a potential Super Bowl contender. His age also indiciates he will not seek a long-term investment.
For those reasons, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes the Packers could be top suitors for him in free agency with their 10th-most projected cap space ($51.29 million).
“The Packers could make sense as a landing spot,” Knox wrote about Mack’s pending free agency in 2025. “Green Bay was able to pressure opposing quarterbacks (45 sacks), but it often relied on interior defenders to do so. Packers passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley was Mack’s defensive coordinator in L.A. in 2023.”
Would Khalil Mack Fit Within Packers’ 4-3 Defense?
Mack is an imposing pass rusher who should do damage for his next team’s defensive trenches, but are the Packers and their 4-3 defense under Jeff Hafley the right fit?
Mack has made his living over the past seven seasons rushing the passer out of a two-point stance as an outside linebacker in 3-4 defensive schemes in L.A. and Chicago, but he did play a hybrid defensive end role in Gus Bradley’s 4-3 defense for the now-Las Vegas Raiders in his first four seasons. During that span, Mack made three Pro Bowls, received two first-team All-Pro selections and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
It is worth wondering whether Mack — who has seen most of his success as an outside linebacker — would welcome a return to a 4-3 defense. That alone could eliminate the Packers from his potential landing spots. If he is open to the possibility, though, the Packers could benefit from signing someone as accomplished and versatile as Mack.
Packers Have Space to Make Splash in 2025 Free Agency
The Packers are infamous for keeping their money in-house and largely staying out of the free agent frenzy that unfolds every March, but they made an exception in 2024 when they signed free safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs — who both made the Pro Bowl — and could do so again in 2025 given their cap space.
According to Over the Cap, the Packers will have about $51.3 million in total cap space for the 2025 offseason and $38.1 million in effective cap space when accounting for the other necessary expenses along the way, such as signing their 2025 draft class to deals. They also do not have any pending free agents who are in “must re-sign” territory.
The bigger question is where will the Packers choose to invest their extra cap space?
Edge rusher is a possibility. They traded away longtime veteran starter Preston Smith at the 2024 trade deadline and have not gotten the desired production out of former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness in the role opposite star Rashan Gary. While Brenton Cox Jr. has been a breath of fresh air for them, a seasoned veteran like Mack could help.
The Packers could also potentially seek out a new starting center with current starter Josh Myers at the end of his rookie deal. A longtime veteran and Pro Bowl talent such as Ryan Kelly of the Indianapolis Colts could make sense — and he would not cost a fortune, leaving the Packers with enough spending room to address other holes.
The two-day negotiating period for 2025 free agency will officially open on March 10.
