Montez Sweat‘s time in the nation’s capital has come to an end. The contract-year edge rusher has been dealt from the Commanders to the Bears in exchange for a second-round pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. 
Sweat’s name has frequently been mentioned in trade talk, with the expectation he would be more likely to be moved than fellow Washington defensive end Chase Young. A third-round pick was known to be on the table for the former, but reports indicated the Commanders were angling for a second-rounder. With that in hand, Sweat is now headed to the Windy City. As a previous report indicated and SI’s Albert Breer confirms, the Bears were also involved in “extensive” talks for Young.
The Falcons were named as a team to watch for Sweat in particular. Atlanta was indeed in on the 27-year-old, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones confirms. Interest in Sweat helped drive up the Commanders’ asking price, which to no surprise has come in higher than that of the third-round compensatory pick Washington would have been in line to receive had he departed in free agency.
The Commanders already have defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne on the books with hefty financial commitments. Since the team elected to decline Young’s fifth-year option, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year is set to see his rookie contract expire at the end of the season. Young is content to wait until that point to negotiate what will be a sizeable raise on his second pact. Schefter confirms the challenge of keeping both Young and Sweat under contract beyond 2023 played a role in the decision to pull off today’s trade.
It will be interesting to see how Young (who has remained healthy in 2023 and registered five sacks) performs without Sweat lining up opposite him. The latter has also had a strong season with 6.5 sacks, and he will look to translate that production to a Bears team desperately in need of a long-term boost in the pass rush department. Sweat – who is PFF’s third-highest rated run defender amongst edge rushers (and 56th in terms of pass rush grade) – is attached to his $11.5MM fifth-year option in 2023, and he too will be due a lucrative extension at some point in the near future.
Chicago is set to once again have considerable cap space this offseason (a league-leading $110MM entering today), as was the case in 2023. General manager Ryan Poles was active in a number of areas during free agency, but the main edge rush addition was a one-year deal given to nomadic sack artist Yannick Ngakoue. The 28-year-old received $10.5MM in a bid to give the Bears a consistent presence on third downs and help his chances of securing a multi-year commitment in the spring. Things have not gone according to plan so far, however, with Ngakoue registering just a pair of sacks in eight games.
Sweat will provide a starting presence for the Bears, who sit at the bottom of the league with just 10 sacks on the year. The Mississippi State alum has managed between five and nine in that regard in every season so far, and a strong showing to close out the year will help his bargaining power regarding extension talks with Chicago at the end of the year (unless, of course, an extension will have already been worked out by that point).
The Commanders are clearly adopting a seller’s stance given today’s move, but a recent report suggested a fire sale should not be expected. Sweat may therefore be the only notable name to depart Washington, but the Bears will remain a team to watch over the coming hours given the newfound uncertainty surrounding cornerback Jaylon Johnson‘s future in Chicago.
What a way to kick off trade deadline day.
The Bears have no direction.
Sometimes that’s better than going in too many directions…link to youtube.com
Well, this one isn’t too surprising I don’t think. The Bears really wanted Brian Burns in the Panthers trade, and have sniffed around a couple of other ends/linebackers if reports are to be believed. It seems as if that was an area where they wanted to improve. I would say that I expected Young in this type of deal (either to Chicago or elsewhere) over Sweat, who I thought was more likely to go for a third and not a second.
Chicago has made a lot of moves in the last couple of years at edge rusher-it’s sort of ironic, in a way, because in the last few years they’ve dealt away both Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, and acquired both Yannick Ngakoue and Montez Sweat. Give away two, pick two up. Now, we’ll just have to see how much of an impact Sweat can have on his own for the Bears.
No, the Bears are going in two directions. Godawful enough to just suck it up, take the beatings, and get possibly the first and second overall pick next draft (and possibly get a better QB and another elite receiver), only to cough up another high second rounder for a guy who, while is far better than Claypool was, is still another misfire because this is a guy you could have gotten as a FA at the end of the year, was not worth buying so high in case of ‘losing out’ on him, and now may make the Bears good enough to miss out on the first and second over all picks (even if the Panthers somehow stay godawful there is a TON of competition for the bottom in the league right now). Now, if the Bears still stink, do they really think Sweat is sticking around on such a bad team? Either Poles really does believe Fields is THAT guy (and therefore does not need the 1st overall pick), OR (and more likely) one has to wonder if the McCaskey’s started to see some financial losses and demanded that a trade get made to try to draw some more bucks into the stadium in another subpar year.
I’m not going to say whether this was a good or bad trade overall, but I think that the objective is to get Sweat under contract for the future. They’re essentially spending a second round pick on a more experienced and more proven defensive end than a rookie would be. I don’t think that Sweat on his own gives Chicago enough to start winning games; I think that this is more of an attempt to plug a hole that would have been addressed by that second round choice anyway.
So I understand what Poles was thinking. However, there is still a major question for me here. The part that gives me pause is Sweat’s age. It doesn’t seem like he’s been in the league forever, but Sweat is already 27. If we figure that the Bears’ rebuild goes exceptionally well, that’s still likely a two year process at the minimum until they can think about serious contention. Sweat may be 30 by the time Chicago is back on its feet. Would that pick have been better used on a rookie? Granted, there’s no guarantee that the prospective rookie would even start, let alone be better than an established player like Sweat, but the Bears would have him cheaper and younger to develop alongside the rest of the team. How long does Poles expect this rebuild to take? Would he even be around if that happens?
Whatever gain Chicago could get from this is still predicated on them getting him under contract long term, first. Without that, this trade is pointless. Any other discussion until then is premature.
So a franchise in disarray. You now have 2 defensive players you have to try and sign to extensions. I’ll tell you this. He better get at least 1 of them signed very soon because he can only use 1 franchise tag on 2 valuable defensive players. This was a dumb move on so many levels it’s hard to say which is dumber. When he should of been adding draft capital he gives more away. On top of that another one of Eberflus’ coaches is fired for some kind of despicable behavior so he’s assembled a staff of coaches who are an HR nightmare. This season is completely lost. Poles hired Eberflus and the Bears obviously didn’t do proper diligence on their coaching hires so Warren needs to clean house and he might as well do it now before the whole thing goes up in more flames than it has already. Take a page from Mark Davis, Do it now and take your time looking for a new GM and coach. The jobs were out of reach for both of them. After cleaning house and creating cap space the way he filled it up with rejects is disturbing and you can’t let him do it again. They can’t waste the 100 million dollars this year or it’s gonna be tragic.
Good move for the Bears, it’s about time they really started to add some talent, and get that ball moving a bit faster.
Unfortunately, for the Bears, it isn’t really their defense that’s been their biggest issue holding them back.
It’s an awful move for the Bears. That 2nd is going to be a very high 2nd and now they have to extend him on top of it because he’s expiring. They should add talent via free agency where it doesn’t cost valuable picks.
Agreed. Stop giving up 2nd round picks. For the Bears, they’re practically 1st rounders.
Yeah, but when you’re a losing team, you have to overpay to get some great talent in the building.
Then, you establish your culture, continue building, and it’ll become a place where eventually guys will want to come, and you won’t have to overpay for these types of guys.
Or keep their picks and draft better. There is no guarantee he extends with them and in that scenario they wasted a high 2nd round pick for half a season of an edge rusher in a non-playoff season.
The smart way to build is to keep picks, draft and develop well, then add outside talent. If Poles can’t draft and develop well, it doesn’t matter how much outside talent he brings in because they’ll still suck and he’ll be fired in a few years.
Do you really think he would’ve made this trade with no extension? If so, then he should be fired immediately as this is a lost season and this dude won’t change that.
Yes, I do think he would make this move with no extension. He traded a high 2nd for 1.5 seasons of Claypool, which is about the same level of egregiousness, IMO, because Sweat is a much better pass rusher than Claypool is a WR.
You still need really good veterans to help change the culture no matter how well you draft and develop players. The locker room can make or break a team, so by getting the right guys in the right places it significantly helps the coach parlay his message all across the team.
They have plenty of draft capital. They need proven players as well.
Now, I’m also thinking it makes ZERO sense trading their stud, 24yr old CB Jaylon Johnson. He’s EXACTLY the type of guy that does help you build a team into a contender. He’s the draft pick they got right and nailed perfectly. Now, they don’t extend him and keep him? That sends a really bad message to the locker room.
If they trade Johnson, after doing this, I would expect all Bears fans to be like wtf is even going on now?!?
Yes, he’s demanded a trade, but thays only because the Bears management hasn’t made any progress towards an extension with him. Before that, he openly said he actually wanted to stay in Chicago several times…They’d be crazy to trade away exactly the type of player they need to help turn this thing around.
Bringing in a veteran for two months is going to change culture? I don’t see if and if we made this trade with no extension I’ll consider it one of the worse trades of all time. Worse than Claypool even because at least you in theory had another year out of him.
There’s almost entirely NO WAY they made this deal without Sweat being open and pretty much agreeing to an extension.
If so, that’s just insanity…
Richard… We don’t know what the Bears have offered Johnson or what Johnson wants. The Bears offer may be very fair and Johnson may think he’s God’s gift. Ok, he’s a solid cover corner but he’s missed a lot of time and does not generate turnovers. I’m betting he thinks he’s in the elite 18-19 mill club- He’s not.
I assume they know they can extend him, if not they can tag him for at least a season.
@richardc / Culture? Don’t talk about culture! you kidding me? The Bears have inducted more people into the Hall of Fame than any other NFL franchise.
That matters how right now??
That’s cool and all for nostalgia purposes, but that doesn’t help at all right now.
If Edmunds, Ngakoue, Billings, and D.J. Moore weren’t enough to establish “culture,” then this front office and coaching staff are screwed. Adding Montez Sweat for a top 40 pick and then either overpaying him or letting him walk is not the move that’s going to put their “culture” over the top.
There’s a difference in adding guys and adding the right guys. Moore is a glue type of guy, Sweat is a glue type of guy.
Look at what the 49ers did to turn their fortunes around.
Yes, it takes hitting on some key early AND late picks, but it also takes bringing in quality leaders and veterans.
Agree, disagree, whatever. You have your opinion, I have mine.
If they let Sweat walk, or trade Jaylon Johnson then they’re ignorant and have zero direction. Otherwise, you don’t make this trade.
I agree they should not let Sweat walk after trading for him; however, he now has ALL the leverage. Why wouldn’t he say “make me the highest paid DE in the league or I’ll walk?” He absolutely should because if they say no, then he can go sign with the highest bidder, a team that is likely not one of the 3 worst in the NFL to boot.
Well we certainly don’t want any players who actually care about things like history, traditions or culture coming to training camps. It helps much more to fully embrace players who have the “it’s all about me” attitude.
Crosseyed – The HoF players you’re talking about no longer play and most are deceased or don’t have much to do with the team. Culture is not about how many hall of famers a team has — that would be their history. Culture is attitude, values, everyone being on the same page working toward a common goal, relationships, etc. Its not about the past.
You don’t build through free agency. You build through the draft.
You don’t build through free agency, but you can help your roster set a tone bringing in the right veterans.
The D- line is the weakest position group on the whole team. And does the article state it’s a second round pick in ‘24? They have two seconds in ‘25.
@rondon- If you click the link to the Schefter tweet in the article, he states it’s a 2024 2nd.
Ah, ok. Thanks.
So much for getting dealt to a “contender”? You get to go from 3rd place to last place! Good times…..
I’d have to think a contract extension is going to be announced later, otherwise this is a terrible trade for the Bears
A bit of a headscratcher unless he’s agreed to an extension because the Bears are not in a position to be a buyer.
Why? The Bears suck and need to be rebuilding through the draft though and they are going to have a really high pick so that’s a valuable 2nd rd pick for a player who’s really good but not great in my opinion. Just weird to me. This team is tan so poorly it’s crazy. They need start all over again, go hire Jim Harbaugh and let him coach and make the roster decisions.
Jim Harbaugh isn’t going to be welcomed with open arms around the NFL given the degree of his NCAA violations.
NE Patriots have entered the chat
Harbaugh will have to lay low for at least a year and if he gets back in the NFL it will be in the background as an assistant to his brother. It would be a terrible look for Goodell if he’s suspending players for gambling with one hand while allowing a rules violator to take a HC position with the other. BB would have been bounced after the Bengals spy scandal had he not been winning SBs and generation tons of marketing income for the league via the Patriots popularity and success.
Poles needs to be fired immediately, we can no longer let him make these idiotic no direction trades
The Bears continue to be one of the most poorly run franchises in the NFL. Sad
To paraphrase the great Harry Doyle:
“We’ll obviously the Bears are thinking… actually I have no idea WHAT they’re thinking!”
Harry who? Since you consider him great, I can only assume he played for the Steelers at some point…lol.
Good DEs usually aren’t available in the 2nd round. If the Bears are planning to go QB and then a LT or WR your not going to be able to get that DE then. I would assume they sign Sweat to a long term contract.
Agree that the success rate of draft an impact DE is tough with the 35th or so pick. So if they sign sweat to an extension, it’s a good move. Then use first two (likely top 7 ) picks for offensive weapons to help fields (Harrison and bowers in a dream scenario), add Chris Jones as a FA, and you’re a different team. I can see a path.
This makes zero sense. But it’s the Bears.. they traded for Claypool last deadline giving up a second. They were roughly 6th worst team then. Only way this makes sense is if they extend him.
But…
Why?
Maybe the Bears get a second round pick back when they trade Jaylon Johnson?
I would be shocked if Jaylon Johnson nets them higher than a 4th, but I see more like a 5th or maybe a 5th and 7th. He’s playing very well this season, but all his prior seasons have been pretty average.
Second year in a row the Bears have traded a 2nd round pick when they should be selling haha
Glad Poles learned his lesson from last year. Idiot.
Sorry UM- I think you’re wrong on this one. They are in desperate need on the D-line- arguably the weakest area on the whole team. Sweat addresses ONE piece of that. They’ll obviously need more help, but assuming they lock him up, that 2nd round pick doesn’t need to be spent on an iffy d-line prospect. He can still sign/draft more help there. Round one goes to QB/ Edge/WR. I think Poles is trying to make the best of a “Pace/McCaskey” situation.
This is what you get when you have a GM, that knows he’s a few months from getting fired. Bears ownership is negligent for even allowing him to make any trades involving future day 1 or Day 2 picks. He’s just lousing up the next GM’s rebuilding job.
Hopefully this trade doesn’t become Claypool2.0.
Bears will have $90M in cap space for 2024 and will have to pay Sweat AAV of $20M..they have the room.
If they have a deal in place, then maybe. But otherwise it feels like they are giving up a very high #2 to get a slightly better chance of signing a FA?
This is almost exactly what I predicted my Raiders would do.
Absolutely amazing the amount of fellow “bears fans” in here that have no idea what they’re talking about.
Sweat is still young and the bears have tons of money to sign him let alone franchise tag if needed so he’s not going to walk after the year
This year’s draft is weak in top edge rushers and heavy on offense.
Essentially you drafted sweat but have to pay a nice contract for the known commodity. They most likely will be drafting Williams or maye. Trading fields for day 2 draft capital and not having to pay big QB 2nd contract money
CC is an educated Bears fan with a sensible take. At least there are two.
Yeah- well first they have to figure out how to convince 2 valuable defensive players to sign extensions on a failure of a football team So that take is completely wrong. Eberflus defensive scheme completely stinks, And neither of those guys should really want to come back. Eberflus has had 2 coaches fired now for despicable behavior and since every coach hires his friends WHAT does that say about HIM? Inquiring minds wanna know. They can only franchise 1 so now Poles has put himself in another dilemna.
What a waste. The Bears aren’t even in playoff contention so they trade a valuable pick for a guy that’s just ok as a pass rusher and who will be a FA the end of the season, and sign elsewhere. Ryan Poles is keeping up the tradition of bone headed Bear moves.
The Bears will get a contract done for Sweat before the end of the year. That will leave them the options of drafting Williams, Maye, Harrison or Fashnau with the first 2 picks depending on Arizona. Fields has one more year with a cap hit of $6M in 2024. The Bears will draft a QB, because they don’t want to end up like the Giants or Cardinals and pay someone because they don’t have any options.
The Redskins/Commies could take their second and then sign Sweat back on a high priced second contract. And it would be worth it, on what is a lost season.