Chicago Bears Draft: Signing Ledarius Mack a heartwarming, risky moveRyan Heckmanon April 26, 2020 at 3:00 pm
Chicago Bears (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Following the 2020 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears signed undrafted free agent pass rusher Ledarius Mack, brother of Khalil Mack. Was this risky?
Over the course of this offseason, the Chicago Bears have completely changed their edge rusher room. Following the 2020 NFL Draft, it’s going to look even more different.
As soon as the draft concluded, the Bears began working on finding the undrafted free agents they’d like to sign, and one of them now has the chance to play with his brother.
Ledarius Mack, the brother of current Bears star Khalil Mack, agreed to terms with the Bears yesterday and joins the pass rushing group that looks a lot different than it did last season. Playing at the same school as his brother, Ledarius went undrafted out of Buffalo.
Now, the Bears have Khalil, Robert Quinn, Barkevious Mingo and fifth-round pick Trevis Gipson as the main guys in their outside linebacker room. Ledarius will have to fight for his roster spot over the offseason and training camp, but how will that shake out?
On film, you see a lot of similarities between the brothers. Ledarius definitely has a motor and, at times, looks ferocious rushing the passer. He is a little smaller than Khalil, but you can see he plays with a lot of similar tendencies.
Ledarius plays with a reckless mentality. He honestly just wants to destroy the quarterback, and that’s a welcomed addition to the Bears’ already feared defense. It also helps that he feels both himself and the program he comes from has been disrespected for a while.
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The University of Buffalo has not historically been a factory for NFL talent, outside of the obvious in Khalil, and his brother Ledarius knows that. Ledarius plays with a chip on his shoulder, and hearing him say he’s just getting started makes me feel some type of way. I hope this kid pans out and get absorb everything he possibly can from not only his brother, but all of the talent around him in Chicago now.
While this makes for a phenomenal story, and it’s going to be a lot of fun watching the brothers play together, how will this story end?
I want to hope for the best, and that Ledarius ultimately makes the team. He’ll have his brother pushing him, obviously. But, on the off-chance that Ledarius doesn’t quite add up, what does that conversation look like?
Better question: What do both conversations look like? The one with Ledarius, and then the one with older brother Khalil?
The Bears don’t dare cut the brother of the face of their franchise, do they? That instantly becomes a tense dynamic, even though we all want to think Ledarius makes the team. But, this is a risky move in a way, because if Ledarius ends up not being good enough to make the roster, you obviously disappoint two people instead of just one.
At this stage, Khalil understands this is a business. After all, his experience with the Raiders proves that fact. But, this is his family we’re talking about, not just a close buddy.
I am hoping Ledarius improves the areas he must improve and balls out over the summer. That’s the way I look at it. I’m sure most fans agree when I say I don’t want to think about how the situation would pan out, should the Bears have to cut Ledarius.
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