The NFC North reacts to the Khalil Mack trade

As soon as the news leaked on Saturday morning about the Chicago Bears making the blockbuster trade for Khalil Mack I knew I had to do a few things.

First, I emailed the Windy City Gridiron team to make sure we were going to have the best all day coverage of this historic event. We did, and we nailed it. You can catch up on anything you may have missed in our Khalil Mack story-stream right here.

Second, I had to get out of bed. Which for me was tough, because I am not a morning person. Not at all. Saturdays are my sleep-in days, but with my phone blowing up, and with a responsibility to the community, I put on some pants and crawled out of bed.

Third, I checked social media to get the latest news about cutdown day, and to gauge the reaction of fans and media alike in regards to the Mack move.

That’s when I realized I had to get the take of our fellow NFC North, SB Nation sites: Acme Packing Company, Pride of Detroit, and the Daily Norsemen.

As much as I dislike the Bears’ three rival teams, I enjoy the coverage from our sister sites that cover them. Evan “Tex” Western (APC), Jeremy Reisman (PoD), and Christopher Gates (DN) all do a great job. Whenever I want to know something about the Packers, Lions or Vikings, that’s where I go.

Here’s what they had to say when I asked them about the Mack trade.

Evan “Tex” Western: The Packers were in on Mack -- that much is certain -- but it seems that they just didn’t have the best trade package in the Raiders’ eyes. Seeing him go to the Bears hurts, since Green Bay has long-term questions about their outside pass rush. But it’s hardly a knockout blow to their title hopes in 2018 or beyond. Ultimately, this seems like a big gamble for the Bears, and I still believe their hopes of contending in the immediate future still rest on how Mitchell Trubisky develops.

Jeremy Reisman: A month or so ago, I proposed a trade for Mack that involved sending two first-round picks and Ziggy Ansah for the All-Pro defensive end. It was a near 50-50 split among the fanbase. I was torn, but ultimately said I would do it. So, I think the Bears made the right move and I hate them for it.

Christopher Gates: Well, the Bears appear to have added what appears to be the final piece of a very good defense in Khalil Mack. They were lacking a big-time pass rusher, and they don’t come much more big-time than Mack. With the Vikings’ offensive line issues, this is definitely a troubling development for Minnesota. It also appears that this is going to put even more pressure on Trubisky to take the next step, because the Mack acquisition means that it won’t be the Chicago defense that holds this team back. Overall, this is good news for Bears fans and bad news for everyone in Minnesota, Detroit, and Green Bay.