The Chicago Bears appear to have assumed the stance that Austin Booker will start at defensive end across from Montez Sweat as he heads into his third NFL season, though the availability of the right player for the right place might change that outcome.
A handful of veteran depth options are available in free agency, but those are short-term situational solutions, and head coach Ben Johnson and GM Ryan Poles are building toward something with youthful investments more or less across the board.
Booker fits that mold after coming on during the second half of his second pro campaign following a seven-game absence to start the year due to injury.
The argument for pushing Booker back into a rotational role for a third season exists in the possibility for the Bears to deal for a player with proven production who is in his prime and won’t break the bank via his trade cost or salary upon arrival in Chicago.
One possible option is Alex Highsmith of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Another is Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
Josh Sweat Would Prefer Trade Out of Arizona
GettyPass-rusher Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Monday, June 22 authored a proposal in which the Bears swap a conditional third-round pick to the Cardinals for Sweat, who is coming off a career-high 12 sacks in 2025.
Sweat is reportedly unhappy amid the losing culture that enveloped Arizona last season, and is likely to persist in the desert for at least two or three campaigns into the future.
The Cardinals don’t have an obvious answer at quarterback, and the NFC West Division houses both the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and 2026 title favorite Los Angeles Rams — plus the San Francisco 49ers who have played in the big game twice in the last seven years and earned a spot in the second round of the playoffs in January.
“Teams looking to improve their defense should call the Arizona Cardinals about Josh Sweat, who may be looking for a change of scenery,” Knox wrote. “Teams may have to overpay a bit to land Sweat, but those seeking pass-rush help should inquire.”
Josh Sweat Represents Strong Bargain in Range of 3rd-4th Round Pick
GettyPass-rusher Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals are potentially already setting the table for said overpay by insisting they have no intention to trade Sweat, which could be tactics or true position.
That said, the one-time Pro Bowler will play next season at 29 years old in the second year of a four-season, $76.4 million contract. He will undoubtedly make Arizona better via his presence on the roster, but not good enough to contend. And being incrementally improved doesn’t serve the Carinals’ immediate purposes as one of the top candidates to draft a QB high in a loaded 2027 class.
A conditional third-rounder that becomes a second-round selection if Sweat plays enough and is productive enough would probably be too steep of a price for Chicago.
But a third-rounder outright, or a conditional fourth-round pick with another reasonable draft asset kicked in, starts to sound like a reasonable exchange for a player in Sweat with 55 career sacks — particularly on a Bears defense that fielded among the least effective pass-rush groups in the league last season.
Bears Trade Pitch Supplants Austin Booker With 55-Sack Pro Bowler