The Chicago Bears don’t appear likely to find the trade value they want for quarterback Justin Fields in terms of draft compensation, but perhaps they can get there in the form of an active player.
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron floated a trade pitch on Wednesday, March 13 flipping Fields to the Philadelphia Eagles for edge rusher Josh Sweat.
“Josh Sweat is only 26 years old and has 31 sacks in the last four years. Eagles seem likely to trade him,” Infante wrote. “Justin Fields has been linked to Philly. Fields for Sweat swap, straight up. Let’s get Sweaty in Chicago. #Bears”
Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported on March 11 that the Eagles have spent the last several weeks considering whether to trade Josh Sweat, his teammate and fellow pass rusher Haason Reddick, or both.
“In recent weeks, the Eagles have been exploring options to trade their starting edge rusher Haason Reddick and/or Josh Sweat,” Zangaro wrote. “The addition of [Bryce] Huff certainly won’t slow down that process and, at this point, it would be pretty surprising if both of their starters from 2023 are back.”
Among Chicago’s top priorities this offseason will be to address its pass rush, which was 31st in the NFL last season out of 32 teams with just 30 total sacks.
Things probably would have been considerably worse if the Bears hadn’t addressed one side of the defense by trading a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Montez Sweat. He finished the year with 12.5 sacks between the two teams, becoming the first player in league history to lead two franchises in total sacks during the same season.
The 27-year-old Montez Sweat earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his five-year NFL career in 2023 for his efforts and also inked a four-year contract worth $98 million total. Josh Sweat has been in the league six years and has a Pro Bowl appearance of his own (2021). He is currently playing on a three-year contract worth $40 million total that runs through next season.
Josh Sweat’s run defense wasn’t great in 2022, but he put up 7.0 sacks along with 16 QB hits, 45 hurries and 68 total pressures, per Pro Football Focus. As such, Josh and Montez Sweat would be a formidable pairing on opposing edges of the Bears’ defense moving forward.
Also, for those wondering, the two players are not blood relatives.
The simple solution of flipping Fields for Sweat solves several of Chicago’s problems.
First, the Bears want real value for the quarterback, which will be difficult now considering how many potential contenders for his services already locked down long-term starters or bridge quarterbacks in free agency. That the upcoming draft class is potentially six first-round QBs deep, which also doesn’t help Fields’ value.
If Chicago ends up selecting Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall, the likelihood is that the team uses the No. 9 pick to address one of three positions: wide receiver, left tackle or edge rusher. The Bears were hoping for second-round value for Fields, presumably to fill one of those three positions that they don’t supplement with the No. 9 selection.
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