If the Chicago Bears want to add a pass-rusher, which several analysts and reporters who cover the team and/or the NFL as a whole have suggested since before the season began, the league’s suspension of defensive end Montez Sweat for the following two games creates the best possible window to make such a move.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was one of several people to report the Sweat news via social media on Tuesday, October 13.
“#Bears DE Montez Sweat has been suspended for the next 2 games for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy,” Biggs wrote. “That means he will miss Sunday at Atlanta and the following Thursday vs. New England.”
Chicago could have several options, including a reunion with Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers on what might be a one-year rental that costs a Day 3 pick and less than $6 million in base salary payments across the final 13 weeks of the campaign.
Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals is another possibility as a younger player with three years remaining on his contract and with a team likely to sell ahead of the November 10 deadline. He is liable to cost somewhere in the range of a third-round or fourth-round pick.
But there is also the nuclear option, which would involve a blockbuster deal for Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, a team beginning to come back to earth after a 3-0 start to the campaign.
Raiders Started Season Well, May Still Sell Ahead of Trade Deadline
Las Vegas injected life into the football scene in the desert with the arrival of offensive guru Klint Kubiak as the head coach. However, they couldn’t hold off the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, while the New England Patriots blasted Vegas by 28 points last Sunday.
Ben Solak of ESPN predicted Tuesday that quarterback Kirk Cousins might hold onto the starting spot for just one more game, at which point the team will transition to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
That would signal the Raiders’ acceptance of what most experts believed this season might be for the franchise — the start of a rebuild that will take at least a couple of years to bear the fruit of legitimate contention, which doesn’t line up with Crosby’s career or contract timelines.
Maxx Crosby Should Be Worth 2 Draft Picks to Bears, Including 2027 1st-Rounder
Las Vegas tried to trade Crosby in March for two first-round picks and almost got there, falling one failed physical short of executing that agreement with the Baltimore Ravens.
Crosby has rebuilt his value since, tallying three sacks in five games and operating as a top-five edge-rusher in the league over that stretch with 28 quarterback pressures (5th), 16 hurries (5th) and nine hits (3rd), according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Pro Football Reference has Crosby with two sacks on the year, but 13 quarterback hits.
Whatever grouping of statistics one considers, Crosby is among the best edge-rushers in the game yet again at age 29. He appears fully healthy and worth the risk of sending out major draft capital in a trade, even despite his $106.5 million extension that starts next year and runs through 2029.
Two first-rounders is too high a cost for the Bears to pay, while a more desperate team like the Dallas Cowboys might agree to such a price. However, if Chicago could get away with a first-rounder in 2027 and a third- or fourth-round selection in 2028, Crosby is probably worth it given how much he could raise the floor of an inconsistent Bears’ defense.
Bears’ Montez Sweat News Cracks Blockbuster Trade Window for $100 Million DE