The 49ers have never hidden the fact that they wanted Khalil Mack, with coach Kyle Shanahan saying after the Raiders traded Mack to the Bears that San Francisco “went real hard” after Mack. Now 49ers G.M. John Lynch is saying the 49ers actually offered more than the Bears did.
Lynch said on 95.7 The Game that he believes the final offer he made for Mack was better than the one the Raiders took from the Bears.
“I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but we tried like heck to acquire Khalil Mack,” Lynch said, via CBSSports.com. “But it didn’t work out. But, you try by any means necessary to get it but it’s not easy. Guys that are free, they never become free because they’re so coveted in this league. They’re franchised typically or they work out a new deal.”
Lynch then confirmed that he considers the offer he made better than the offer the Raiders got. Whether the offer was “better” may be in the eye of the beholder. For instance, maybe the 49ers offered the exact same package of picks that the Bears ended up giving the Raiders. At the time, most people considered the 49ers a better team than the Bears, so the Raiders wouldn’t have viewed that as a better offer. As it has turned out, the Bears are a much better team than the 49ers, so the 2019 first-round pick the Raiders are getting from the Bears will be nowhere near as good a pick as the 49ers’ first-round pick. But the Bears didn’t know that at the time.
Regardless, the 49ers badly wanted Mack. Badly enough that they were willing to give up, apparently, two first-round draft picks to acquire him.