The Detroit Lions discovered a rising talent in edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, but have struggled to complete their pass rush with another reliable contributor.
That might change this summer with one major transaction, according to Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus.
Spielberger wrote about four potential deals that might shake up the NFL offseason, forecasting that the Lions may make a push at All-Pro Khalil Mack serves as Hutchinson’s counterpart on the edge.
Spielberger claimed that dealing for the Los Angeles Chargers star could be an all-in move for a Lions team that was heartbreakingly eliminated from the Super Bowl after blowing a 17-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game.
He contrasted the prospective deal to the interest in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins last offseason, a declining talent with a high price tag who was eventually released when his team couldn’t find a trade partner ready to pay the price.
That interest, however, comes at a cost in this league, and Mack’s 2024 pay is expensive for a 33-year-old edge defender, especially one coming off a successful season like Mack’s 2023 campaign,” Spielberger noted.
Mack is in the penultimate season of a six-year, $141 million contract with the Chicago Bears, yet he continued to perform well in 2023.
The All-Pro edge rusher had a career-best 17 sacks for the Chargers last season, but Spielberger claimed that a team like the Lions would be able to snag Mack at a lower price owing to his age.
“The challenge for Los Angeles will be convincing teams they are trading for the 2023 version of Mack and not what is more likely a player whose median expectation should fall somewhere between his past two seasons,” he wrote in a blog post.
Spielberger said that the move might benefit the Lions, who have been improving what was formerly a league-worst defense.
He went on to say that “adding a savvy veteran difference-maker like Mack could push them over the edge.”
I know what I offer to the game and understand that I want to be a team player.
“Whatever team it is, I don’t have control over it right now,” Mack stated, according to Kris Rhim of ESPN.
While Hutchinson had another excellent season, recording 11.5 total sacks, the Lions struggled to find consistency beyond the second-year edge rusher.
One of the greatest question marks was James Houston, who had a strong second half of his rookie season in 2023 with eight total sacks in seven games, but was hurt in Week 2 and missed the rest of the regular season.
Some believe the Lions might add to their defense through trades, including Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon, who listed the Lions as one of the top five landing locations for Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick following his trade request.
