After 11 NFL seasons, it appears that Khalil Mack might be ready to hang up his cleats for good. The Los Angeles Chargers linebacker, who saw his season end on Saturday in a 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans, isn't so sure that he wants to keep playing football.
One day after the loss to Houston, Mack said he hasn't made up his mind about possibly playing another season.
"Man, it's a lot of different thoughts in my head right now," Mack said Sunday, via ESPN.com. "I can't really speak on a definitive decision in terms of what I'm going to do because I don't know if I'm going to play football moving forward, so there's some things I got to talk through with my wife, spend some time with my kids and try not to make a rash decision after a loss."
The 33-year-old has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL for more than a decade. Not only was he the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, but he's also been voted to the Pro Bowl in nine of his 11 seasons. Mack also has three first-team All-Pro honors under his belt.
Although Mack has plenty of accolades, one thing he hasn't been able to do is win in the playoffs. Mack has been to the postseason five times in his career and he's gone 0-5 in those games. Mack has been a part of some of the most soul-crushing losses in recent playoff history ranging from Chicago's 16-15 double-doink loss to the Eagles during the 2018 wild-card to the Chargers 31-30 loss to the Jaguars in 2022 where Los Angeles blew a 27-0 lead.
Mack is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career in March, so the chance to cash in one more time could be something that keeps him on the field. If Mack does return in 2025, it sounds like he'd prefer to stay with the Chargers.
"As long as Justin Herbert is your quarterback. You got [safety] Derwin James and all these guys that love the game of football. And Jim Harbaugh coaching?" Mack said. "You know you always have a chance to win. Yeah, that's a no-brainer."
If Mack does end up retiring, he'll be going out on a pretty high note from a personal standpoint: He racked up two sacks on Saturday in what might end up being the last game of his career.
