New Charger Mack making progress during busy offseason

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — It has been a busy offseason for Khalil Mack since being traded from the Chicago Bears to the Los Angeles Chargers.

In addition to becoming familiar with new teammates and getting up to speed on a new defense, the outside linebacker has been rehabbing from last year's foot surgery.

Considering everything that has gone on the past three months, Mack seems pleased with his progress.

“I can’t help but feel part of things. At the same time, there’s still an adjustment learning names, faces and all of those different things. It’s coming along,” he said.

Mack has spent most of the practices working on the side, but he was participating in the 11-on-11 walkthroughs during the first day of minicamp on Tuesday. He said the rehab process has been smooth so far and that he should be ready for the start of training camp in late July.

Mack is going into his ninth NFL season. He got off to a strong start in Chicago last season with six sacks in seven games before being placed on injured reserve in November and undergoing foot surgery.

Coach Brandon Staley said Mack has been able to do some individual drills. Staley, who was Mack's linebacker coach in Chicago in 2018, also noted that Mack is picking up on the defense during walkthroughs.

Staley's defense carries a lot of similarities in terms of techniques and languages from the system Vic Fangio ran in Chicago that season.

“I can tell that Khalil has confidence in his assignments. It doesn’t need to go full speed for you to be able to tell if a player knows it or not,” Staley said. “I can tell when Khalil is confident, when he gets into that familiar stance that I know all too well.”

Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson were the biggest upgrades on a defense