Khalil Mack Says There Needs to Be Sense of Urgency for Bears: 'Gotta Win Now'

Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack said Tuesday he feels a sense of urgency to push toward a Super Bowl title while still producing at an elite level.

Mack recalled conversations with former Oakland Raiders teammates Charles Woodson and Justin Tuck about the limited time frame NFL players have to win championships.

"You're running out of time, man," he told reporters. "All these older dudes let us know at an early point in my career, man, we ain't got no time to waste."

Mack, who's qualified for the playoffs twice in five NFL seasons, is still looking to win his first postseason game.

"Absolutely," he replied when asked whether he feels it's getting late. "You've gotta win. Gotta win now."

The 28-year-old University at Buffalo product is one of the league's most decorated defensive players. He's earned four consecutive Pro Bowl selections, made the All-Pro First Team three times and won the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Yet individual production is only one measure by which players are judged. A career without a championship has a glaring hole, regardless of how well a player performed.

Mack is focused on helping his Bears teammates get better during training camp with hope that translates to title contention at season's end.

"That's what it's all about," he told reporters. "This game is all about making everybody around you great, not so much about making myself great."

Chicago has the fourth-best Super Bowl odds in the NFL, per Caesars.

The Bears will need another monster year from Mack to live up to those expectations and potentially win the franchise's first title since 1985.