Lynch revealed on KNBR on October 16 that Kittle asked him Thursday about Mack, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, and Lynch said, “Usually it’s Kittle because he asks about everything, which I love.”
Lynch didn’t say whether the 49ers are interested in Mack, responding “I can’t tell you that” when asked, per NBC Sports’ account of the interview.
Kittle Says It Was A Chirp
Kittle said he isn’t typically campaigning for specific players, telling reporters after practice, “I just like to chirp him and ask what he is interested in.”
He added that he and other veterans “all chirp him just to see if he’ll actually tell us anything,” and Lynch laughed about the speculation, saying, “We seem to be connected to everyone, and I don’t know where that comes from.”
🚨🚨#49ers are expected to have interest in #Chargers Khalil Mack
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) October 17, 2026
Lynch did say the 49ers are both making and receiving calls ahead of the November 10 deadline, “just because the flow of the trade deadline is approaching.”
Pro Football Rumors’ Sam Robinson wrote that Kittle’s question is “hardly confirmation the 49ers are in on Mack,” though he noted the 13th-year edge rusher has come up in trade rumors at multiple junctures.
Mack’s Situation Keeps Moving Toward A Trade
The Chargers are 0-6, and Casino.org’s Jason La Canfora wrote Tuesday that Mack “seems as good as gone,” though the team gave him so much money up front as a signing bonus that it’s “a bitter pill to swallow.”
Mack is 35 and signed a one-year, $18 million fully guaranteed deal this offseason with $10 million paid as a signing bonus, and he has three sacks through five games this season and 116 for his career.
Pro Football Rumors reported the Chargers have been rebuffing trade inquiries, and Mack said earlier this month that “we’re still ring chasing here,” so no deal looks imminent.
The 49ers are 6-0 after Monday’s 23-17 win over Washington, but they have 11 sacks through five games, and Nick Bosa had missed three straight games with a calf injury as of last week, when Lynch said he was making progress.
The Chargers are on their Week 7 bye and face the Rams on November 1, nine days before the deadline.
