With only Super Bowl 59 remaining before the NFL offseason fully gets underway, rumors of free agent signing, potential draft selections, and blockbuster trades will constantly be swirling around after Sunday. Despite the Super Bowl taking place at the end of the week, trade speculation went in full throttle as Cleveland Browns’ All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett requested a trade. Although one of the most pressing roster needs for the Chicago Bears is adding another defensive end, general manager Ryan Poles should refrain from potentially wanting to pursue Garrett this offseason via trade.
Myles Garrett would be too costly for the Bears at the current moment
On Monday, Garrett in a post on X announced that he wanted a trade from Cleveland, which has led to immense speculation as to what sort of trade compensation the Browns could receive in return, especially on the heels of the Luka Doncic trade which has received national criticism. There has been early guesses as to what a potential trade package would be with many believing it would cost a team not one, but two first round draft selections, if not more. Additionally, trading for Myles Garrett would be costly from a salary cap position, as the All-Pro pass rusher likely wouldn’t approve a trade without a record-breaking contract-extension from his new team.
Although the Bears have a significant number of resources to improve their roster under new head coach Ben Johnson, including three of the top 41 draft selections in the 2025 NFL Draft and over 67 million in cap space, trading for Myles Garrett would exhaust those resources. Unfortunately, with the current state of Chicago’s roster, a trade for arguably the league’s best defensive player would cause more harm than good with long-term roster flexibility. Poles’s main goal this offseason will be needing to address multiple positions along both the offensive and defensive line and offensive line, which would be hindered by acquiring an elite-level player for one of those many positions.
If Poles were to trade for Garrett, despite the move giving Chicago the best pair of defensive ends with the All-Pro and Montez Sweat, it would at a minimum cost the Bears two of their three top selections in this year’s draft, if not all three. Furthermore, there is a chance a potential trade could cost the team their first or second round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. with a need for a defensive end, defensive tackle, running back, center, offensive guard, and potentially an offensive lineman, losing three or four high-leverage draft selections would be too costly for Chicago to acquire Myles Garrett.
Trading for Garrett would also limit Chicago’s salary cap flexibility at time where the flexibility is needed the most to improve the roster immediately. It is expected that Poles and Johnson will heavily pursue this year’s top offensive linemen in free agency, including Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith. Signing Myles Garrett to a record-breaking contract extension would likely cost the Bears a chance to sign Smith or any other premium offensive linemen available in free agency.
Looking past the 2025 season, trading for Myles Garrett and then signing him to a massive contract extension would drastically affect Chicago’s long-term flexibility to add additional players. Trading for Garrett would likely create the same issues the franchise experienced after the Khalil Mack trade in 2018. Following a NFC North Divisional title in 2018, Chicago’s front office was unable to add needed roster talent due to low salary cap space or additional draft selections to trade for available players.
Myles Garrett would limit Ryan Poles’ ability to prove himself as a quality talent evaluator
From a front office perspective, trading for Garrett would be a significant move by Poles, but would be a potential negative for the already embattled general manager’s tenure with Chicago. Trading for Myles Garrett would limit the Bears’ general manager from building the roster via the draft and signing the correct available talent during free agency. Through three off seasons, Poles has had more misses than hits when it comes to free agency and the draft, which has led many analysts to question whether or not he can be trusted with the long-term future of the team.
Trading multiple firsts and second round selections for Myles Garrett would significantly reduce Poles’ ability to prove his true worth as a general manager by targeting the correct talent this offseason. Imagine a scenario where Chicago acquires Garrett, but misses out on a potential Pro Bowl offensive guard, a starting defensive end, and a reliable defensive tackle because they gave up multiple high-level draft selections over the next two years. Additionally, a potential trade would put at risk Poles’ need to rebuild Chicago’s offensive line, something that is vital to the development and health of quarterback Caleb WIlliams.
Poles also needs to be able to prove his ability as an executive to be successful in free agency, especially with some of the failures the team has had the last few off seasons. The most significant offensive lineman signing by Chicago the last few seasons has been that of Nate Davis, who was let go after just a season and a half. Poles also missed on signing defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and offensive lineman Ryan Bates during his first offseason, leading to questions regarding his ability to build the trenches.
Following the end of Super Bowl 59 on Sunday evening, the league’s offseason will fully begin, and the rumors will be constant, especially with the Myles Garret trade request. Although the Bears do have a need for a defensive end, the roster is not in a position to take on expected costly price of Garrett. There are too many holes along the offensive line and defensive line that would likely go unaddressed if the Bears completed a blockbuster trade for the most dominant pass-rusher in the NFL.
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