The Chicago Bears have one of the top tight end rooms in the NFL and one of the least proven groups of edge-rushers heading into training camp next month, though just one transaction could change that.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, June 24 suggested a trade between the Bears, Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers in which Chicago acquires pass-rusher Josh Sweat, sends tight end Cole Kmet to Carolina and results in two fourth-round picks landing in Arizona.
Chicago needs to bolster a pass rush that recorded just 35 sacks last season. The Bears also have a potential trade chip in tight end Cole Kmet, who may no longer have a prominent role.
With Trey McBride already in the fold, though, the Cardinals don’t need a pass-catching tight end. However, the Carolina Panthers do.
Sweat, 29, has three years remaining on his $76.4 million contract and has expressed displeasure at the idea of playing out that deal in the literal and proverbial desert that is the Cardinals organization mired in the otherwise general greatness of the NFC West Division.
Bears Have Shown Cards on Keeping Cole Kmet, Stacking TE Room
GettyTight end Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears.
In a vacuum, Knox’s trade works fine.
Chicago does need a pass-rusher, but it is unlikely the team is willing to let Kmet go to get one. Trade rumors around Kmet made more sense earlier in the offseason before the team showed its cards by drafting tight end Sam Roush in Round 3.
The Bears played more heavy personnel (two- and three-tight end sets) than most of the league last season. It is a strategy trending among some up-and-coming or already-arrived offenses (the Los Angeles Rams, for instance), and one Chicago has outfit its roster to maximize.
Undrafted rookie free agent Hayden Large, a tight end out of Iowa who also lines up at fullback and plays special teams, is a sleeper to make the 53-man roster, and he would do so as the TE4.
If Large proves even bigger than his name over the course of the summer, perhaps the Bears might consider trading Kmet as part of an effort to round out the edge rush.
But it’s far more likely Chicago holds onto Kmet and heads into Week 1 with three players — Kmet, Roush and 2025 first-round rookie Colston Loveland — who can all catch passes and function effectively as in-line blockers.
Bears to Bet on Health, Internal Development to Improve Pass Rush
GettyDefensive end Austin Booker of the Chicago Bears.
The Bears also have the option of turning to free agency to add a situational pass-rusher if Austin Booker starts the season slowly or the group suffers an injury in the early going.
Booker missed seven games last year after a preseason injury, but the former fifth-rounder is poised to start the year opposite Montez Sweat. Both Dayo Odeyingbo and 2025 second-rounder Shemar Turner could return fron injury in time for Week 1, which would round out the team’s defensive ends with young talent and upside.
That said, the Bears’ defense is a strong regression candidate after leading the league in turnovers and turnover differential last season.
The best way Chicago can protect itself from a step back defensively, beyond revamping the secondary as it did through free agency and the draft this offseason, is to ensure a strong pass rush. The team could not boast of such a unit last year, as the Bears were near the bottom of the league in quick pressures and pass rush win rate.
Bears Trade Pitch Swaps Cole Kmet for $76.5 Million Pass-Rusher