The Chicago Bears employ two players who have recently performed at a star level in the NFL and boast the contracts to match, though both failed to live up to their deals last season.
As such, wide receiver DJ Moore and defensive end Montez Sweat were dubbed trade candidates by Jacob Infante of WCG heading into the offseason.
Moore is the priciest player on the roster in 2026 and also offers the most potential savings ($24.5 million annually in each of the next four seasons with a post June-1 designation). Meanwhile, Sweat represents $21 million in savings against the salary cap in each of the next two years if Chicago deals him this summer.
Montez Sweat Has Been Good for Bears Since Trade, Not Good Enough
GettyGeneral manager Ryan Poles of the Chicago Bears.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles traded a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders to acquire Sweat ahead of the mid-season deadline in October 2023. Chicago then inked Sweat to a four-year extension worth $98 million just five days later.
Sweat finished his first run with the Bears as a Pro Bowler, putting up 14 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks across stints in Washington and Chicago. He has since logged 22 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in 33 games played. In 42 games donning a Bears uniform, Sweat has tallied 26 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks.
Those are far from bad numbers, but they don’t justify nearly $25 million in annual average salary for a team that finished with just 35 sacks total in 2025 and was 31st in the league in pass-rush win rate at less than 29 percent.
Bears Can Position Themselves as Players for Top Pass-Rushers in Free Agency
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles edge-rusher Jaelan Phillips.
That said, Sweat remains an above-average NFL pass-rusher (42nd out of 115 qualifying players at the position last season, per Pro Football Focus), which isn’t the type of player a team that has struggled to pressure quarterbacks can afford to simply disregard.
Chicago can pivot from Sweat, however, given a couple of openings in free agency and the No. 25 pick in April’s draft.
If the Bears deal Sweat after June 1 and clear $21 million, then also deal Moore and clear $24.5 million more, they will go from $17.4 million in the red to $27.1 million in the black against the 2026 salary cap.
That alone would clear up enough space to sign either Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals or Jaelan Phillips of the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency.
Chicago could then use its first-round pick on the best available edge-rusher, or best defensive tackle who can stop the run and create pressure up the middle, taking two big chops at improving what was an underperforming defensive front all season long.
Bears Could Stack Draft Assets in 2026 by Trading Montez Sweat, DJ Moore
GettyChicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
Not to mention, the Bears would also bring back third- or fourth-round value for both Moore and Sweat, so Chicago could throw a couple extra solid draft assets into the mix with the seven picks they already hold in 2026.
Armed with a second-rounder as well as perhaps two thirds and two fourths would create opportunities for the Bears to move up and draft another talented defender, either off the edge or to fill potentially open roles in the secondary next season.
Moving Sweat and Moore, then proceeding in such a fashion, isn’t the only path forward for Chicago. But it is one that provides optionality and could ultimately create more talent roster-wide as well as afford the Bears more bang for their buck as they try to get back to the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
$98 Million Star Dubbed Among Bears’ Likeliest Trade Candidates