The Chicago Bears gave up a lot for former Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack. Chicago sent 2019 first- and sixth-round picks, and 2020 first- and third-round picks to Oakland in exchange for the game-changing defensive player but received a 2020 second-round pick and another conditional selection, according to ESPN. That's a nice haul by the Raiders for a disgruntled player who wanted a contract the team could not afford.
Then you look at Oakland's 2018 season and think, "They sure could use a pass rusher."
The same can be said of the team about 35 miles down the I-880 — the San Francisco 49ers. General manager John Lynch has already stated that the team was aggressive in pursuing Mack when he became available, but the Raiders ultimately chose to deal with Chicago.
Even before the loss of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the Niner Faithful have been critical of the 49ers' aggressiveness to bolster the roster. The team's lack of depth was on full display during Sunday's loss against the Arizona Cardinals. Injuries haven't helped either.
Names like Mack, now in Chicago, wide receiver Josh Gordon, traded from Cleveland to New England, and even disgruntled Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell often come up as examples of the 49ers not pushing hard enough to acquire top-tier talent.
Lynch and the 49ers made a call to the Browns about Gordon before he was sent to the Patriots but never seemed genuinely interested in the receiver. Some of that may be due to head coach Kyle Shanahan's familiarity with him. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Cleveland during Gordon's third NFL season.
How aggressive were the 49ers in pursuing Mack? Lynch said during a Friday-morning KNBR interview that their offer for the defensive star was comparable with Chicago's.
"I think each and every situation is different," Lynch said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "I think we've spoken and we've been honest in terms of our involvement in each of those. I would tell you, and both these players are on other rosters so at some point we've just got to move forward, but with Khalil Mack, we made every effort to try to secure his services. He wasn't a free agent. It was a trade scenario, and we went in there, and we went in there hard. We did everything.
"Our offer was very similar to the one that ultimately won out. I don't know what went into the Raiders' mindset in terms of where they sent him, but that was one we knew we had a game changer.
"On the other situations, there was a lot that went into that. At some point, we chose to withdraw our interest there. Each and every situation we look at, I think we are aggressive in trying to acquire talent that can help us not just for the short-term but for the long-term. We'll continue to do that."
You can listen to the entire interview with Lynch below.
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