Khalil Mack didn’t take part in any practices during the offseason or training camp before being traded to the Bears a week before the start of the regular season and some people had questions about his conditioning before last Sunday night’s opener.
Mack answered those questions pretty well. He played 42-of-60 defensive snaps against the Packers and spent most of the first half wrecking Green Bay’s offensive plans. The tide turned in the second half, but Mack said he felt fine and joked with outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley that his “body missed getting beat up.”
With the first test of Mack’s fitness out of the way, head coach Matt Nagy suggested his playing time will go up against the Seahawks on Monday night.
“We really didn’t know exactly where he was going to be,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Tribune. “You saw how well he could play and what his motor was like. He told us what his motor was like, but we weren’t sure. Then we saw it. Now we’re hoping we can keep growing from that. As long as he feels good, let’s go.”
Given what it cost to get Mack and what it costs to pay him, it’s not surprising that the Bears want to get as much out of Mack as they possibly can. We’ll find out Monday if that’s enough to get them the win that eluded them in Green Bay.