Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported last night that the San Francisco 49ers were among the teams exploring the possibility of trading for Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack. The elite pass rusher won't be joining the Niners.
The Raiders are planning to trade Mack to the Chicago Bears, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Sources to ESPN: Raiders and Bears have an agreement in place to trade Khalil Mack to Chicago. Still working through it, but Raiders now planning to send Mack to Chicago.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2018
The most an NFL team has surrendered for a defensive player is when Vikings traded a 1, two 3's and a swap of 5's to Chiefs for DE Jared Allen. Bears trade for Khalil Mack, when it gets done, will top that, making it the most an NFL team has surrendered for a defensive player.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2018
An elite pass rusher remains a need for the 49ers defense. While the team failed to upgrade the position during the offseason, it did re-sign Cassius March and added Jeremiah Attaochu. The 49ers have also experimented with using defensive lineman DeForest Buckner as an edge rusher in certain defensive packages.
As for Mack, he is entering his fifth NFL season and has compiled 40.5 sacks since being drafted by the Raiders with the fifth overall pick in 2014. He has also registered 304 combined tackles, 11 passes defensed, an interception, a touchdown, and nine forced fumbles.
The Bears, like the 49ers, have the salary cap space to sign Mack to the long-term extension he seeks. Chicago has nearly $24 million in cap space while San Francisco has over $44 million. Oakland, however, only has about $7 million of available money to spend on players.
Mack was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, has been a Pro Bowl selection during each of the past three seasons, and is a two-time first-team All-Pro (2015, 2016).
The 49ers host the Raiders on November 1 and the Bears on December 23.
