Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack, right, sacks Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud during the Chargers’ season-ending loss Saturday in the AFC wild-card playoffs. (Ashely Landis / Associated Press)
After a devastating 27-point playoff collapse two seasons ago nearly sent Khalil Mack into sudden retirement, the Chargers’ star edge rusher plans to revisit the decision about his football future with more care this offseason as he’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
Still wearing the wounds of the Chargers’ AFC wild-card round exit to the Houston Texans, Mack said Sunday he will prioritize his family while evaluating his next career move. The father of two will make sure to discuss it with his wife. He knows how impressionable his sons, aged 2 and 3, are at this age. They love watching highlights of their father’s football career, and spending time with them is of utmost importance.
But the 11-year professional who could be in the running for the Hall of Fame one day is still chasing not only his first championship, but his first playoff victory.
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“I also don’t want to go out with a L, just based on who I am as a man and a person,” Mack said. “I’m a competitor, man. I’m the ultimate competitor.”
The 33-year-old Mack is one of many impending free agents who will weigh their football futures after the Chargers were bounced from the playoffs by the Houston Texans. But the annual threat of roster churn came with additional optimism in El Segundo on Sunday as the Chargers looked toward a bright future under coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Just understanding what he’s done in the short time he’s been here, and the potential of the guys that are in the building, you see the growth is inevitable,” Mack said. “It’s only a matter of time.”
The Chargers went from five wins last year to 11 in Harbaugh’s first season, the best single-season turnaround for the franchise in two decades. In the process, Harbaugh “made football fun again,” said cornerback Kristian Fulton, who is slated to hit free agency again after signing a one-year deal with the Chargers.
“Honestly one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been on,” safety Derwin James Jr. said.
James is already trying to keep the band together.
Amid final team meetings, exit interviews and locker clean out Sunday, the All-Pro safety gave Mack his pitch to keep the edge rusher in L.A. The pair of defensive leaders earned Pro Bowl nominations this season as James notched a career-high 5½ sacks. Mack, who restructured his contract last offseason to take a pay cut and stay with the Chargers, earned his ninth Pro Bowl appearance, tallying 39 tackles and six sacks.
Khalil Mack walks off the field after a Chargers win over the New England Patriots on Dec. 28. (Vera Nieuwenhuis / Associated Press)
Although it was a decrease from when he revitalized his career with a career-high 17 sacks and 74 tackles, his highest total since 2017, Mack said his body is in “tip-top shape.” After missing one game this season because of a groin injury, Mack said the bigger consideration is the mental toll of a season and the time it takes away from his family.
The Chargers’ third Pro Bowl selection Rashawn Slater is under contract through 2025 after the organization picked up the left tackle’s fifth-year option last May, but could be due for a long-term extension soon. The 25-year-old had the second-highest blocking grade among tackles this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and earned his second Pro Bowl appearance.
Despite coming off such a strong season, Slater said he has not engaged in any extension talks.
“I’ve always just been focused on ball and kind of let the thing happen how it happens,” Slater said. “But I love playing here and that would be great.”
In addition to Mack, the Chargers also face free agency decisions on starters, including center Bradley Bozeman, running back J.K. Dobbins, defensive backs Fulton, Elijah Molden and Asante Samuel Jr. and defensive linemen Poona Ford and Morgan Fox.
Samuel was placed on injured reserve Oct. 12 with a shoulder injury that he likened to a stinger Sunday, his first comments to local media since he was sidelined. He aggravated the injury during a collision in practice and was on the injury report for Week 1 but continued to play until it flared up heading into the Chargers’ Week 6 game against the Denver Broncos. Doctors advised him to take a cautious approach. He said both shoulders are affected, but the left one is more severe. It didn’t require surgery and he expects to be ready for the offseason program wherever he lands next year.
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After the Chargers drafted him 47th overall in 2021, Samuel said it was “hurtful” to not be on the field while his team turned into one of the NFL’s best defenses. Under first-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the Chargers finished the regular season as the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense, allowing 17.7 points per game.
“The first year is a lot of bumps and bruises, but I feel like next year they’re going to be top tier,” Samuel said. “We was already top tier this year. So I feel like next year is going to take another step, and it’ll keep taking steps and getting better each and every year. We have a great coaching staff. We have a great staff in general, just the whole organization. … So we have all the pieces we need here.”
Those pieces could be a key in Mack’s ultimate decision. Past his initial estimate of a 10-year professional career, Mack has made it clear that if he’s playing, he intends to be competing for a championship.
For the first time in a while, the Chargers might truly fit the bill.
“As long as Justin Herbert is your quarterback, Derwin James and all these guys, man, that love the game of football, and you got Jim Harbaugh coaching you,” Mack said, “you know you always have a chance to win.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.