EL SEGUNDO — Khalil Mack’s decision to return to the Chargers for a fourth season and to the NFL for a 12th overall was rooted in a number of things, not least of which was another shot to win with the Chargers. He looked around the locker room and determined this was where he wished to be.
Mack said Wednesday, on the second day of the Chargers’ mandatory minicamp, that his body was sound enough to keep playing. It was the mental grind of playing and practicing and preparing to play and to practice that made him consider retirement, however briefly, after this past season.
In the end, and with his wife wondering repeatedly why he would even think about quitting the game of football, Mack signed a one-year, $18 million contract to stay with the Chargers. The nine-time Pro Bowl selection said “technically” he never entered free agency since he agreed to a new contract mere minutes before the open negotiating period on March 10.
“I mean, why not here?” he said. “Just knowing what you’re stepping into.”
What he returned to was a second season with Jim Harbaugh as coach and Jesse Minter as defensive coordinator, with fellow outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu for a third season, and with heightened expectations after the Chargers went 11-6 last season and finished second in the AFC West.
“You’re chasing that feeling, (playing) important games, deep into the season,” Mack said. “I can’t give up on that dream, on that goal. … The body thing is easy for me. I’ve been doing pretty solid with that part. It’s the mental aspect of it, it’s a grind, coming in and doing this and that.”
The Chargers have advanced to the playoffs twice since they acquired Mack from the Chicago Bears before the 2022 season. They lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in epic fashion in a wild-card game following the ’22 season, coughing up a 27-point first-half lead en route to a 31-30 loss.
This past season ended with a 32-12 clunker of a defeat to the Houston Texans in a wild-card game in which everything seemed to go haywire all at once, featuring four interceptions from quarterback Justin Herbert, who had thrown only three over the course of a 17-game regular season.
Mack said “I would be lying if I said there wasn’t” an interest in signing elsewhere during the offseason, but he declined to divulge further details. The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year wanted to return to the Chargers to continue his pursuit of a Super Bowl appearance.
That’s why he has arrived early and stayed late during offseason workouts, well ahead of OTAs. He shamed at least one younger teammate, second-year cornerback Tarheeb Still, into turning a four-day workout schedule into a five-day workout schedule, a sign of his ongoing leadership.
Mack called it “The Friday Story.” Apparently, Still was saying his goodbyes to everyone in the Chargers’ facility, after spending Monday through Thursday working out. When Still said, “See you Monday,” to Mack, Mack answered back quickly, “Why not Friday?” Still then switched to a five-day schedule.
“It’s fun to see the growth in the group with (Still) and the other young guys, keeping up the energy and coming in and grinding,” Mack said. “I kind of grind through it. But, all in all, I love the game of football. It’s so much fun playing with these guys. That’s what over-trumps all the other stuff.”
STAYING DEFENSIVE
After the Chargers led the NFL by giving up only 17.7 points per game during the 2024 season, there didn’t seem to be any reason during the offseason to mess with success, especially among their defensive backs. So, General Manager Joe Hortiz didn’t tinker too much with his roster of cornerbacks and safeties.
That’s a great thing, according to safety Derwin James Jr., who excelled during Minter’s first season with the Chargers, and expects more of the same during their second year together. James, along with Mack and inside linebacker Daiyan Henley, are the pillars of the Chargers’ defense.
“It feels good, especially in the second year with these coaches, the second year with some of the guys,” James said, referring to Minter, Harbaugh and his teammates. “We don’t have to re-teach the beginning stuff, you know, the learning phase. You introduce other stuff, but we’re kind of ahead on that. We make it more about us and how other teams are attacking us.”