Report: Bears 'unlikely' to be active at trade deadline |
As we approach the NFL trade deadline, which is one week away, all eyes turn to the bottom feeders of the league to see what their approach will be. That includes the Chicago Bears, who are coming off their second win of the season but remain in rebuild mode at 2-5. Considering that this team currently holds the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft via Carolina, and most likely another top-10 and potentially top-five pick, the future could be very bright in Chicago if they can draft well enough to make that happen.
Chicago has an opportunity to make things even better for its future should they trade away some pieces to acquire more assets. With guys like Travis Homer, D'Onta Foreman, Robert Tonyan, and Mercedes Lewis, to name a few, on offense with one-year deals, the Bears have plenty of pieces that other teams will be looking at. Should you focus on the defense for a minute, Yannick Ngakoue is the name that comes to mind, as he should generate the most calls within the Bears circle over the next week. Even if the Bears are to receive a ton of calls, which they will, Ryan Poles seems to be content with the position his team is currently in, as it doesn't look like they will be too active at the deadline this season. Considering how active they were last season, that may be a breath of fresh air to some, but others may want them to get rid of guys like Foreman and Ngakoue, as it would give Chicago more assets to play with to use as leverage options down the road. This may shock most fans, considering the Bears are closer to picking first overall than making the playoffs, but things can change from week to week, so this is the position they are in. You saw the Bears make a couple of splashes last season when they traded away Roquon Smith and Robert Quinn for mid-round picks. While it was tough to get rid of those guys, especially Smith, it made sense, so the Bears needed to do what they felt would help them this season. Unlike last season, the Bears don't have too many players with that kind of demand attached to them, apart from Ngakoue. Even at that, Poles doesn't seem to want to part with any player for mid-round picks this season, which could see the Bears stand pat at deadline day instead of acquiring more assets. Although Poles has decided what to do at the deadline, many NFL scouts and experts have continued to urge the Bears to approach the deadline with an open mind, as you never know what type of offers you will get. Sitting at 2-5 right now, projections indicate that the Bears will finish with around 5-6 wins, which gives them less than a 5% chance to make the playoffs. It would also take them out of the running of landing two top-five picks, so it will be up to the Panthers to guarantee them one. Given what could happen draftwise with more wins, the Bears should approach the deadline with an open mind to listen to all offers as the Cardinals, Giants, and Patriots all pick before the Bears at this moment while the Broncos are tied with Chicago, but the Bears own the tie-breaker on them by virtue of the loss. In other words, another win pushes the Bears outside the top five, and you could be looking at falling out of the top 10 altogether. Fans never want to see a team tank, and no one is asking this team to tank. However, the organization still needs to face reality, and the fact is they are still a year or two away from being serious contenders. Why hold anything back this season when you can better your future by making trades? While the Bears may not have an elite player, they have plenty of players capable of being stars or, at the very worst, capable of helping a team get to a Superbowl. Ngakoue is the most logical piece, but you also have Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson on the defensive side, while Foreman, Cody Whitehair, and Darnell Mooney could be options on the offense. Considering that Mooney has a great connection with Fields and Johnson now entering contract extension talks with the Bears, those names will most likely come off the table, but the rest should be available for the right price. Even if most of these names will only land middle to late-round picks, it makes no sense for Poles to come out and say they won't be active. Look at it this way. The more picks you accumulate, the easier it will be to trade some of those picks for a better selection or more players in the offseason. This is a crucial week for the Bears and their brass as they need to figure out what is more important to the organization.
