Getty General manager Ryan Poles of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears should be a much-improved team in 2023, and they might surprise everyone and contend. Should the latter prove the case, GM Ryan Poles will be on the hunt for upgrades to the pass rush.
No one has a better sense of how the Bears will perform this season than the decision makers in the building, and if they get the sense that the NFC North Division is there for the taking then roster improvements might come sooner than later.
Along that line of thinking, David Kenyon of Bleacher Report authored a trade pitch on Tuesday, September 5, in which Chicago makes a deal with the Washington Commanders for former No. 2 overall pick Chase Young.
Timing Crucial for Bears in Potential Chase Young Trade
GettyDefensive end Chase Young of the Washington Commanders may soon be on the trade block.
Young actually makes a good deal of sense as a trade prospect for the Bears. Free agent Yannick Ngakoue is on a one-year deal while fellow starting defensive end DeMarcus Walker is a solid player but is never going to be a world-beater when it comes to pressuring opposing quarterbacks. He finished last season with a career-high seven sacks as a member of the Tennessee Titans.
Edge rusher is among the most important positions in football and the Bears decided not to select one this April, which Poles chalked up simply to how the draft dominoes happened to fall. Young is just 24 years old and a former No. 2 pick/NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He can fill a huge need in Chicago for years to come and has the kind of elite talent that is hard to find and even harder to procure.
Moving on Young now rather than waiting for the trade deadline is a double-edged sword. Young has missed all but 12 games over the last two seasons due to injury, which decreases his trade value and gives a team like the Bears more leverage in negotiations.
However, Young is bound for free agency next spring. Making a deal for him now and shipping out a significant draft package to do so (headlined by what would probably be a second-round pick and then some) only makes sense if Chicago is prepared to offer Young a long-term extension.
Despite his youth and talent, that’s a big swing that could prove a big whiff if Young’s injury problems persist and/or he proves not to be the player he was during his rookie campaign. One solution is to wait until closer to the trade deadline to gather more information on Young and his ability to bounce back as well what can reasonably be expected of him in the future. Doing that, however, affords Young time to re-establish his value, which ultimately means less leverage for the Bears in negotiations and a higher trade price.
Commanders Positioned to Trade Chase Young
GettyDefensive end Chase Young of the Washington Commanders.
As Kenyon laid out in his pitch, the current situation on the Commanders’ defensive line and the financial decisions the team has made regarding Young make it appear like a trade is imminent.
The team signed Da’Ron Payne to a huge extension this offseason after locking up Jonathan Allen last year. Washington declined Chase Young’s fifth-year option, so both his and Montez Sweat’s contracts expire after the 2023 season. Can the Commanders afford to keep all four?
Technically, it’s possible, but that’s probably not going to happen. Given that Sweat has tallied 13 sacks in the last two seasons as Young has appeared in just 12 games, the scale is tipped in the former’s favor. … And the Chicago Bears are in the position to gamble on talent.
Unless an unexpected player has a breakout season, they lack a high-impact pass-rusher. … Chicago could part with a draft pick to add the Ohio State product, extend him immediately and avoid a bidding war in free agency.
Kenyon’s assessment of the Bears’ edge rushers isn’t necessarily fair, as Ngakoue finished last season with 9.5 sacks for the Indianapolis Colts and has recorded at least eight sacks in all seven of his NFL seasons.
That said, Ngakoue has deficiencies as a run defender, while a healthy Young is a more complete player — not to mention four years younger.