49ers Urged to Add 17-Sack Pro Bowler After Career Revival
The focus of the San Francisco 49ers is solely on the Super Bowl, but the team is still being linked to a major free agency move in 2024. San Francisco didn’t get to this spot by being lax when improving the roster, and now they’re being urged to sign three-time All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack.
In a February 5 article, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox explains why Mack could be a “steal” for any interested team. His salary in 2024 for the Los Angeles Chargers is gargantuan. But a team like the 49ers could swoop in should he be cut.
“Cap space is a problem for the Chargers,” Knox wrote. “They’re projected to be $44 million over the cap, and cutting the final year of Mack’s contract would save $23.3 million in cap space… The 49ers should also be interested in Mack. They acquired Chase Young from Washington to help complement Nick Bosa, but Young—who registered only seven quarterback pressures in nine regular-season games with San Francisco—hasn’t had the desired impact.”
Mack is coming off a career year at 33, totaling 17 sacks in 17 appearances. That number is somewhat inflated (more on that below,) but Mack proved that he still has gas in the tank.
Mack Turns Back the Clock in 2023
For the back half of the 2010s, Khalil Mack was one of, if not the premier edge rusher in the NFL. As Pro Football Reference shows, he crossed the 10-sack mark in four straight seasons and entered his 30-year-old in 2021 with 70.5 career sacks.
But 2021 and 2022 were less than ideal. Besides the Chargers falling flat as playoff contenders, Mack missed 10 games in 2021. Then, he put up a reasonable, but not elite 8 sacks in 2022.
In 2023, there were concerns on if his best work was behind him. Then Week 4 happened. Mack exploded for six sacks against his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders. At year’s end, he had racked up 17 sacks, five forced fumbles and 10 passes defended.
Somehow, Mack was not named to first or second-team All-Pro squad. Either way, it was a monstrous campaign that will make the Chargers and other teams like the 49ers consider his services
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