The Chicago Bears now have more reason than ever to become sellers at the NFL trade deadline after sinking to 1-5 on the 2023 season. Perhaps, though, there is a move that could keep building for the long-term future if the Washington Commanders are willing to entertain offers on a potential Chase Young trade.
Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger recently called attention to the “good problem” in the Commanders’ pass-rushing room with Young and fellow edge rusher Montez Sweat both performing well through the first six games of the new season. With both due to become free agents in 2024 and Washington unlikely to keep both, he projected they could flip Young to the Bears in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 fifth.
“The Commanders really backed themselves into a corner here,” Spielberger wrote. “Netting only a 2025 compensatory pick when one of the two signs elsewhere in free agency is a poor process when they could recoup potentially much more in a trade.
“As always, a coaching staff and a front office that may be fighting to keep their jobs can be averse to moving off premium talent, but this move makes too much sense for the long term of the franchise, and perhaps new owner Josh Harris puts his thumb on the scale.
Young had three sacks and a fourth-most 27 pressures heading into Week 6’s game, nearly outpacing the combined efforts of Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker for the Bears’ defensive line through the first five games. Even if the Bears’ chances of contending in 2023 have shrunk to near zero, acquiring a player like Young — and his $10.9 million salary — at the trade deadline could set them up well for the future.
Would Bears Bypass 2024 Market for Chase Young?
The compensation Spielberger projected in his hypothetical Chase Young trade is within reasonable value for the Bears. General manager Ryan Poles might feel more inclined to hold on to premium draft picks after essentially giving up a first-round pick (No. 32) for Chase Claypool at last year’s deadline, but a third-rounder and a mid-Day 3 future selection is tempting to add a 25-year-old pass rusher with superstar potential.
The problem is the Bears might be able to find a high-quality pass rusher — even Young himself — on the 2024 free agent market without giving up valuable draft resources.
Right now, Brian Burns, Danielle Hunter, Rashan Gary, Montez Sweat, Carl Lawson and Chase Young are all projected to flood the 2024 market with accomplished pass rushers. The Bears are also projected to have the NFL’s most cap space — about $111 million — for a second consecutive offseason, giving them the flexibility to make a top-of-market offer to their desired pass-rushing target in free agency.
Unfortunately, the Bears are at the mercy of each player’s current team. The Green Bay Packers could easily decide to extend Gary before allowing him to hit free agency. The Carolina Panthers could dive headfirst into their rebuild in the coming weeks and deal Burns to another team that has every intention of signing him to a long-term deal. The Commanders could also do the same, extending one and trading the other — just as the Chase Young trade scenario predicts.
The point being, while the Bears could continue to count on the 2024 market being talent-rich with edge rushers, there is a good chance some of the best will be taken off the board before Chicago even has a chance to get into a bidding war.
Bears Likely to Add Pass Rushers in 2024 NFL Draft
The Bears might have no choice but to add a veteran pass rusher to their 2024 roster after how poorly things have gone up front through six games of 2023. The notion that they must break the bank to get an elite one, though, is a bit misguided.
According to Tankathon, the Bears are currently in line to finish with the first two picks of the 2024 NFL draft, owning both their own selection (No. 2 overall) and that of the 0-6 Panthers (No. 1). Those positions could change quite a bit over the final 11 games of the 2023 season, but the odds favor Chicago finishing with two top-10 picks.
Now, the Bears might decide to put the better of those two selections toward a new quarterback if things do not work out with starter Justin Fields, but pass rusher would make sense as the next priority for them with a top-heavy class of rookies to consider. And if they finish somewhere between Nos. 5 and 8 overall, they might just get their choice of the class, likely either Florida State’s Jared Verse or Alabama’s Dallas Turner.
The Bears could also double-dip on rookie pass rushers in 2024 after completely ignoring the position during the 2023 draft. If the right veteran does not fall into their laps in free agency, they could put their second-round pick — also projected to be quite high — toward one of the still-solid pass rushers who slipped out of the opening round. Washington’s Bralen Trice or Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau could fit the bill.
A Chase Young trade could still solve some problems for the Bears before the trade deadline, but there are lots of avenues to adding pass rushers before next season.
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Bears News: Chicago Pushed to Trade for $10.9 Million Pass Rusher