The Bears officially introduce Khalil Mack Khalil Mac

You know that. Now read it again. Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear.Still not registering?Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear.Has the reality set in yet? If not Mike Singletary Jerseys Stitched , you better prepare yourself. The fun is about to begin.Mack is being officially welcomed to Chicago by the Bears today at Halas Hall. A blockbuster trade needs a blockbuster welcome, after all. A tone-setter and generational superstar deserves the best the Bears have to offer. Here at Windy City Gridiron, we’ll have full coverage of the press conference for the Bears’ new face of their defense. You can’t let up in moments like these. Trading for Mack not only sent shockwaves around the NFL, but it made the Bears relevant again. It put them back on the map. Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear.One more time. Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear.Here’s a link to the Bears’ stream of their introduction of Mack on their website. And here’s the Twitter link of the presser. In one of the more momentous days in Bears franchise history, a day after they pulled off a coup for Mack, you could sense a palpable energy at 1920 Football Drive. Most importantly, you could sense Mack - fresh off his contract extension with Chicago - itching to get back to work amidst all the excitement. After missing the entire preseason due to his holdout with the Raiders, you’d forgive Mack if he wants to get past the formalities and start learning the Bears defense as soon as possible. Why is Mack enticed by what the Bears have to offer Youth Brian Urlacher Jerseys , beyond anything on the field? They showed an interest in paying him what he’s worth. A novel concept that isn’t difficult to understand. In missing the preseason, is the veteran Mack concerned about not being effective enough against the Packers next Sunday night? Not in the least, so stop wringing your hands. Joining the Bears is even easier for Mack when they not only have a coach to be excited about in Matt Nagy, but a roster ready to win now. That defensive roster for Chicago is obviously what Mack notices first. A group of “dogs” as he said, and a far cry from the shell of the Raiders’ defense. It’ll be nice to play with Akiem Hicks and Leonard Floyd. Is there any pressure on being the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player? Yes, and Mack is prepared to live up to the hype. A thought from Mack that his father adamantly agreed with. That pride is something Mack couldn’t take too far, however. It’s nice to mold these two together after competing against one another, isn’t it?All of this is too much for Mack. It’s time for football to speak first. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers await. After Mack left the podium Brian Urlacher Jerseys Stitched , Bears general manager Ryan Pace and Nagy came to speak about the acquisition of the superstar.In an interesting tidbit, the seeds of a Mack trade went back as far as before training camp began for the Bears in mid-July. You have to explore every option if you’re Pace.There is such a thing as positional value, and Pace puts a lot of emphasis on it. Mack plays football’s second-most important position, and the aggressive Bears had to acquire him.Pace isn’t concerned about the lack of draft capital for the Bears in the near future. The best way of looking at it is that they just acquired a future Hall of Famer as their first-rounder in 2019. Everything will take care of itself. For as much as Mack believes he can go out and dominate right away despite missing August, Nagy knows the Bears have to be more cautious with him to start. Oh, and about those raised expectations with Mack’s addition? They didn’t have to be raised because they were already so high. It’s always been Super Bowl or bust for the Bears. Mack makes that fact more prominent.Robert is an editor, writer, and producer for Windy City Gridiron Youth Gale Sayers Jerseys , The Rock River Times, The Athletic Chicago, and a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski and reach him by email at robertpoduski @ gmail.com. LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears appear likely to get starting right guard Kyle Long back from injured reserve for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, although no final decision has yet been made.Long has been out since Oct. 28, when he suffered a tendon injury in his right foot against the New York Jets.“I thought he’s had a good week of practice and, again, when you’re out that long and you come back Gale Sayers Jerseys Stitched , a lot of it is just getting your wind back, your conditioning back and then obviously trying to see exactly how you feel pain-wise and then health-wise as well,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said Friday. “But he’s done a good job.”The NFC North champion Bears (11-4) could earn a first-round playoff bye with a win and a loss by the Los Angeles Rams, while the Vikings (8-6-1) need a win or a loss by the Philadelphia Eagles to make the playoffs as a wild card.Nagy said coaches and medical officials would meet later Friday to sort out final details on player availability, but the return of the three-time Pro Bowl player seemed imminent either for the full game or at least part of it.“Just talking to him throughout the week, I feel pretty good with him playing most of the game,” Nagy said. “But we’ve just got to kind of see if that’s where we’re at and if it is a pitch count.“I think a lot of that honestly is going to be more so when you’re in the game: How’s he feeling? If he’s feeling good, keep him going.”Nagy said Long has done everything required in practices.Long had surgery on the foot after his injury and was put on injured reserve with an option to return.“He’s gonna be a good addition to what’s already going on offensively Youth Leonard Floyd Jerseys ,” linebacker Khalil Mack said. “Just being able to have him back is huge for us. Looking forward to seeing how he does.”Long was replaced by Eric Kush and then Bryan Witzmann following his injury.Long returned to practice for the first time last Friday and said conditioning was the biggest issue.“I mean, I’m not a marathon runner, thank God,” Long said earlier this week. “It’s a six-second (play) interval. If it was double digits, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to make it.”It appears the Bears will be without several other key players.Safety Eddie Jackson (ankle), linebacker Aaron Lynch (elbow) and wide receiver Allen Robinson II (ribs) have not practiced the entire week and are all doubtful for Sunday’s game.Defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (knee) is questionable after practicing all week on a limited basis.