Yes you have - Terrell Suggs is still going strong with a similar build and size to Mack and he's 37 and torn an achilles. Robert Mathis had 19.5 sacks, led the league at the age of 32. DeMarcus Ware was 10 sacks age 32 for a full season, 7.5 sacks in 10 games the next year. James Harrison (much smaller) had all his good years age 29-34.
Pass rushers succeed a variety of ways; yes Mack is physically dominant but the guy is a tactician as well if you watch him so I like his ability to maintain value into the twilight of his peak/career. The obvious unknown with guys like Mack is injuries quickly can change the conversation.
Okay, let's pull that all back a bit. It's important to compare Mack to DEs. He started with the Raiders as a 4-3 DE, but has been largely been a OLB for the Bears. There's a real possibility that by firing or promotion he'll see a few other DCs in his day and the team could easily move back to a 4-3.
Anyway, here's my thoughts on who you mentioned:
Suggs - Drafted at 6'3, 265 lbs (bigger) and he's been a OLB, which allows smaller players to succeed, almost his entire career. Suggs is also an amazing bull rusher with a larger repertoire of moves. One item I'd add is that Suggs has never been in the Defensive MVP conversation. 7 probowls and one all pro is nothing to disregard, but I think it's fair to say Mack is more dominant now and has demanded a higher payday than Suggs has. I mention that because it's those all pro guys who when they take a slight step back are no longer worth keeping.
Mathis - Great example. Amazing undersized DE (6'2, 245 lbs) in that Dungy Tampa 2 scheme for most of his career. He did have 19.5 sacks at age 32, but from ages 31-35 he had 8 sacks, 19.5 sacks, 0 sacks (injured), 7 sacks then 5 sacks. The 19.5 number jumps out, but that that was by far his best 30+ season. Also important to note, he missed games in all of his last 3 seasons.
Ware - he was a little bigger (6'4, 258 lbs) and played OLB. I'd add, look at his sack production the last 4 years of his career (31-34). They were 6, 10, 7.5 and 4. That largely happened with favorable matchups because Von Miller was on the other side. It's also important to note he missed at least 5 games in his last two years.
Harrison - The smallest of the comparisons being drafted at 6'0 and 242 lbs. He was also played OLB his entire career, so not the same as a 4-3 DE. I'd add he's only had 10+ sacks 3 times in his career and from 34-39 he bounced around to 3 different teams with never having more than 6 sacks in any specific season. IMHO he was essentially done, but just being used as a situational pass rusher.
So, what's the constant themes for smaller edge rushers:
- Longer careers as an OLB
- Typically after 32 there isn't much left or they are not the difference makers they were only 1-2 years before.
- Injuries are more frequent
Let's tie this back to Mack. He's a smaller edge rusher (6'3, 253 lbs). It doesn't make sense to compare his career to Reggie White (6'5, 291 lbs), Bruce Smith (6'4, 280 lbs) or Julius Peppers (6'7, 295 lbs). You can go in a 3-4 for the remainder of his career, but that will limit DC candidates and it starts to make him a specialized rusher that's often not worth paying top edge rusher money. He'll be 29 at the start of next season and this off season might be the last chance to get significant compensation IF you were looking to trade.
*DISCLAIMER* I'm not in the 'trade Mack' camp, but just thinking this through as an option. If you come to the realization that you are very confident you can't win in the next 3 years, then it makes sense to start planning out and trying to have the best team 3 years form now.