NFL News: Chargers' Khalil Mack Reportedly Will Return for 2025, Test Free Agency

Khalil Mack didn't need a lot of time after the Los Angeles Chargers' season ended to make a decision about his playing future.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mack intends to play in 2025 and will become an unrestricted free agent in March.

After the Chargers' loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round on Jan. 11, Mack admitted he wasn't sure if he was going to keep playing:

"Man, it's a lot of different thoughts in my head right now. I can't really speak on a definitive decision in terms of what I'm going to do because I don't know if I'm going to play football moving forward, so there's some things I got to talk through with my wife, spend some time with my kids and try not to make a rash decision after a loss."

This was a different tone than Mack had coming into the 2024 season. He told reporters in July when asked if he was thinking about retirement that they just needed to "turn on the film" because he was "rolling."

A lot of things change in six months, especially after the grind of a regular season and devastation of losing in the playoffs, but Mack is still capable of being an impact player.

Mack was the best edge player on the Chargers this season by PFF grade. He finished with 15 quarterback hits, six sacks and six tackles for loss in 16 starts.

One area in which Mack continues to excel is against the run. He had the best run defense grade among all edge players this season by PFF metrics (91.6).

This offseason will mark the first time in Mack's career that he will be a true free agent. He restructured his contract for the 2024 season to remain with the Chargers.

Mack, who will turn 34 on Feb. 22, has been incredibly durable since joining the Chargers in March 2022. He has only missed one game in the past three seasons and recorded a career-high 17 sacks in 2023.