Chargers’ Khalil Mack reportedly to play 12th NFL season
Outside linebacker Khalil Mack has decided he will return to play in the 2025 season, according to an ESPN report Wednesday that cited an unnamed source. Mack, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, said after the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Houston Texans that his future in football was uncertain.
Mack, 33, is set to become a free agent for the first time in his 11 seasons in the NFL.
The Chargers would seem to have the best shot at retaining his services since he said earlier this month that he believed his best chance to win next season was to re-sign. He also cited the presence of coach Jim Harbaugh and teammates such as safety Derwin James Jr. and quarterback Justin Herbert.
Mack and the Chargers rebounded from a 5-12 record in the 2023 season to go 11-6 and return to the playoffs in Harbaugh’s first season as coach, after he replaced Brandon Staley. The Chargers’ 2024 season ended with a 32-12 loss Jan. 11 to the Texans in an AFC wild-card game in Houston.
“I don’t want to go out with an ‘L,’ just based on who I am as a man,” Mack said in his exit interview Jan. 12 with reporters. “Definitely want to make that push and play some important games in the playoffs. Try not to think too far ahead and try to spend some time with my family and think things through.”
Mack also said of making his decision: “Everything, everything, you’ve got to consider everything. But also you’ve got to consider this team and what it means to me, what the coaching staff means to me. All in all, I’m still considering a lot of things, but I have to do what’s best for myself and my family.”
Harbaugh and Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz each made it clear last week they want Mack back on the Chargers’ roster as one of the team’s leaders for 2025. Mack has 107.5 sacks during his Hall of Fame-caliber career, including six this past season plus two more during the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Texans.
“I love Khalil,” Hortiz said of Mack, who has been picked for the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons with the Chargers, who acquired him before the 2022 season via a trade with the Chicago Bears. “We want them all back. These guys are special, and Khalil is right at the forefront.”
Added Harbaugh when asked about re-signing Mack and several others who are set to be unrestricted free agents and eligible to hit the open market when free agency begins in March, “I don’t know if it’s possible to get everybody back, but I want to get as close as possible, and nobody more so than Khalil.”
In addition to his three stellar seasons with the Chargers, Mack also played four seasons with the Bears and four with the then-Oakland Raiders. He was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 while with the Raiders.
Oakland picked Mack fifth overall in the 2014 NFL draft.
“It was a special year, just understanding what he’s done in the short time he’s been here and the potential of the guys who are here in the building,” Mack said of playing this past season with Harbaugh as coach. “You see that growth is inevitable. It’s only a matter of time. It was impressive what he was able to do.
“Man, as long as Justin Herbert is your quarterback, you have Derwin James and all these guys that love the game of football, and Jim Harbaugh coaching? You know you always have a chance to win. Yeah, that’s a no-brainer. Yeah, if you know football, then you know.”