The Chicago Bears could have the chance to make a trade for a pass rusher this year
If Ryan Poles wants to upgrade the Chicago Bears’ pass rush, he could have the chance to do so ahead of the 2023 NFL trade deadline on Halloween.
A new report from Diana Russini of The Athletic suggests that the Washington Commanders have started to take the temperature of the trade market with one week to go. The report was put out ahead of Week 7 just before the Commanders’ lost to the New York Giants to fall to 3-4 on the season.
And the two players that are subject of the trade rumors are pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Here is what Russini wrote on the situation last week:
Washington Commanders defensive linemen Chase Young and Montez Sweat both have contracts expiring after the season and could be on the trade block. I was told Washington has made calls to take the temperature of the market but is staying patient now, and that the next two weeks of play will shape the decision on their futures. The sense I get out of Washington is one of them will be on the move … if Washington can get the proper compensation.
Would the Chicago Bears target some pass-rush help for the future?
With a 2-5 record going into Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Bears are likely not going to make a run to the playoffs this year. They are relying on Tyson Bagent to win them a few games with Justin Fields out.
But that shouldn’t stop Ryan Poles from building for the future.
The Chicago Bears are set to enter a VERY important offseason with over $100M in cap space plus two first round picks in the 2024 NFL draft. As it stands right now, they hold No. 1 overall from the Carolina Panthers plus No. 3 overall. It’s VERY likely they will have two Top 10 picks and at minimum a Top 5 pick with that coming from the win-less Panthers.
Chicago shouldn’t trade one of those picks for a pass rusher and it likely won’t cost them that. Both Sweat and Young have expiring contracts and Washington could just be looking to get something of value back in return. If Poles could get away with potentially giving up a day two pick in the 2024 NFL draft, that could be considered a big win in terms of improving the pass rush.
The other thing to note is that the Chicago Bears do have the cap space right now to extend one of these pass rushers to a long-term deal. That would be another important part of the decision to land a player like Young or Sweat for the future.
And cap space won’t be too much of a worry, either.
Chicago does have some contracts they can get out of this offseason to save them some money including players like Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair. There are other candidates as well but as of now, those two would make the most sense to move on from and re-construct the roster.
The Chicago Bears could also be re-setting the quarterback clock if Justin Fields isn’t the guy and go with a rookie like Caleb Williams. But that’s a story and a debate for another day.
With pass rush being a big need again going into the offseason, Poles can make a big splash at the deadline to hopefully improve the team for the future. And if his first trade deadline was any indication of what’s to come, it should be a somewhat busy one for the Chicago Bears next week.
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