Chargers, Khalil Mack extension update from insider offers good news

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The Los Angeles Chargers found out this week that star edge rusher Khalil Mack intends to keep playing ahead of his trip to free agency. 

Now the focus turns to whether Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers will be able to keep him from leaving on the open market. 

When it comes to an extension, though, the Chargers aren’t exactly hurting for cap space – especially when two moves could free up more than $30 million more atop an estimated $65ish million in free space. 


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Now, a report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms the Chargers have and will discuss an extension. 

“The sense is Los Angeles will make efforts to re-sign Mack, who will play in 2025 after he said he needed to take time to mull his future following the season,” Fowler wrote. “The Chargers believe he embodies the spirit of the team's toughness. But many teams will be lurking for potential pass-rush help, including -- but not limited to -- Atlanta and Carolina.”

There is risk in inking Mack to a surefire costly extension. He’ll turn 34 before next season, has battled recent injuries and his production has dipped. Possible precautionary tales like Von Miller in Buffalo come to mind. 

And yet, those notes about Mack simply fitting the Harbaugh mold as they rebuild the program are very important. So, too, is the realization that cutting or trading Joey Bosa would free up roughly $25 million in cap space, which is a piece of cap pie they could then shift to Mack. 

The decision doesn’t have to be one or the other. But reporting already indicates the obvious – the Chargers don’t want Mack to leave.

Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack
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Chris Roling
CHRIS ROLING