The Chicago Bears are moving forward as though they won’t have pass-rusher Montez Sweat for the next two weeks. However, he could potentially get the NFL to reverse his suspension, or even rescind it, via the appeal process.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk spoke with 104.3 The Score in Chicago on Wednesday, October 14 and noted a unique pathway by which Sweat may try to navigate the circumstances toward a lesser punishment.
“This is a strange situation because usually we only find out about a suspension when the appeals have been exhausted and it’s just a matter of serving the time, whatever it may be under the PED policy,” Florio said. “I had a conversation with someone earlier that indicated to me they are exploring a potential appeal that, as I understand it, would split the hairs between the PED policy and the substance abuse policy.
“I am at least aware of the possibility of an appeal that would be based on the argument that this is a substance abuse policy issue, not a PED policy issue, and we’ll see how it plays out,” he continued.
Montez Sweat Stands to Lose at Least $2.3 Million Over Suspension
If Sweat’s punishment holds, he will lose a significant amount of money, while the remaining portion of his 2026 salary will fall to non-guaranteed status.
“#Bears DE Montez Sweat will forfeit $2.3M of 2026 salary per his 2-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy,” Spotrac posted to X Tuesday. “Additionally, the $12.7M remaining on Sweat’s 2026 salary is now unsecured, as the PED suspension voided all future guarantees. Sweat is due a non-guaranteed $21M in 2027.”
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron added Tuesday that he expects Chicago will move on from Sweat next offseason if his play doesn’t markedly improve whenever he does get back onto the field.
“The last part is huge. #Bears don’t owe Montez Sweat any guaranteed money in 2027,” Infante responded in a re-post. “It would save $21 million to cut him next offseason. There’s plenty of time for him to turn it around, but based on his play so far this year, I think they’d let him go.”
Bears Could Potentially Cut Ties With Montez Sweat Mid-Season if They Trade for Someone Like Khalil Mack
Based on Spotrac’s interpretation of Sweat’s contract, the Bears could opt to cut Sweat now, or in a couple of weeks, and save upwards of $13 million this season alone.
However, it is hard to fathom the team doing that without an ironclad backup plan to replace the starting defensive end and 2025 sack leader in the lineup.
Austin Booker has played well over the past two games and is a candidate to start, which he likely will do in Sweat’s absence. Fellow starting DE Dayo Odeyingbo is also dealing with a quadriceps injury and may miss Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons as well.
If Chicago decides to attempt a reunion with Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers, which they could probably do right now for a mid-round draft pick and less than $6 million, perhaps Sweat will have to worry about his job security and that formerly guaranteed $13 million.
However, the Bears surely will make no such decisions until any appeal process is complete so that the team knows exactly the implications of parting ways with Sweat. And beyond that, he’s been a part of the locker room for years and is an important factor on the defense, even if he is having a somewhat down year with just two sacks and two TFLs through five games.
Parting ways with Sweat mid-season probably ends with the Bears’ defense being worse, at least for a few weeks in the immediate, and that isn’t the name of the game in Chicago these days.
Bears’ Montez Sweat May Reverse Suspension via Unique Appeal