With the Chicago Bears reportedly fielding trade calls on defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. before the start of the 2026 season, they may have an opportunity to turn one defensive starter into an All-Pro upgrade at safety.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on Tuesday that the Bears have engaged in “trade discussions” centered around Dexter — a 33-game starter for their defensive line — and that “multiple scenarios” exist in which Chicago offloads its 24-year-old in a trade deal.
While Schultz did not specify any interested teams, there are several around the league with defensive tackle needs that could make sense as potential trade suitors for Dexter, including the San Francisco 49ers and Maxx Crosby-touting Las Vegas Raiders.
Elsewhere in the NFC, though, the Atlanta Falcons also count defensive tackle as one of their biggest roster weaknesses heading into the 2026 season. They also happen to have an All-Pro veteran safety in Jessie Bates III who has been the subject of trade rumors.
Bears Could Offer Dexter & Day 3 Pick for Jessie Bates
The Bears have a major question mark at the safety position after losing veteran Coby Bryant — who signed a three-year, $40 million deal in the offseason — to a long-term knee injury early in training camp. While they signed veteran Xavier Woods out of the late-stage free agency pile, it is unclear how confident they are in him as a replacement.
That’s where the Falcons and the high-priced Bates could come into play, especially if Atlanta is looking to improve its defensive interior with a young talent such as Dexter.
Bates is in an awkward financial situation with the Falcons ahead of the 2026 season. He is entering the final year of the four-year, $64 million extension that he signed in March 2023, and while he has maintained his high-level performance in recent years, the 29-year-old may not have a long-term future in Atlanta as the team eyes a rebuild.
Rather than play things out with Bates in 2026, the Falcons could shift gears and send him to the Bears in exchange for a much-needed defensive tackle starter and a Day 3 draft selection. Bates could potentially draw as much as a second- or third-round pick in a pick-for-player trade, but Dexter’s inclusion could make a sixth-rounder realistic.
The proposed trade: The Bears would send Dexter and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Falcons in exchange for Bates and his cap hit of roughly $14 million for 2026.
Bears Can Afford Jessie Bates, But It Would Be Tight
Bates has the potential to give the Bears a perfect solution to their safety problems for the 2026 season. He is a high-level player who has earned second-team All-Pro honors in two of his last three seasons. He also possesses the experience necessary to lead the group and, ideally, help mold first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman into a future star.
Even with the Falcons keeping a large portion of Bates’ expensive 2026 cap hit, though, the Bears would have a difficult — but not impossible — time fitting him on the books.
According to Over the Cap, the Falcons would retain a dead-cap hit of $10.75 million (the price of Bates’ prorated signing bonus) if they traded Bates, while his new team would take on a cap hit of about $14 million. The same cap-tracking website also has the Bears at just $4.59 million in available cap space for 2026, creating a problem.
Moving Dexter off the roster would clear about $1.67 million more in cap space, but the Bears would still need to clear a significant chunk more to make room for Bates’ deal.
The Bears have restructured most of the contracts on their books that would free up meaningful amounts of cap space, but they have a few options left in terms of reworks and extensions that they could explore to create the space for Bates to join the roster.
Perhaps the Bears could also work out an arrangement with the Falcons — who employ former Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham as their new GM — in which Atlanta agrees to retain more of Bates’ contract value in exchange for a better pick.
Bears Trade Pitch Swaps Gervon Dexter for $64 Million All-Pro Safety