Last year, the Dolphins traded for Bradley Chubb hours before the trade deadline. Two days later, they finished out extension talks with a deal that prevented a franchise tag scenario for the former Pro Bowler. The Bears are trying to do the same.
Ryan Poles said this week he is confident the Bears will extend Sweat, whom they acquired from the Commanders for a second-round pick. For his part, Sweat does not appear to be in a hurry. It sounds like the contract-year defensive end would prefer to gauge this Bears fit first.
“I think all that goes into play from financial to the people around me to the players in the building, all that type of stuff like that,” Sweat said, via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. “I just got here. I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going to lay my head at tonight.”
As mentioned Wednesday, Sweat will be armed with some leverage. The Bears’ anemic pass rush over the past two years coupled with Sweat being in a contract year and being acquired for a pick likely to land in the 30s all stand to drive up the price tag. Although Sweat has no Pro Bowls on his resume, he is moving toward his first double-digit sack season. With the Bears sending over a high pick despite being 2-6, this trade is aimed around reaching an extension agreement. Sweat’s camp knowing this will undoubtedly set a high bar to clear.
The Bears will likely have the franchise tag ready for Sweat in the event the sides cannot come to terms by the March deadline to apply tags, but that could also run the risk of Jaylon Johnson departing in free agency. The Bears engaged in extension talks with the ascending contract-year cornerback last month, but failed trade talks — accelerated by the team granting his camp permission to seek a trade hours before the deadline — did not lead to a deal. The Bears wanted at least a second-rounder for Johnson, and Poles said the trade push came from Johnson’s camp after the Chargers game.
“There’s a difference between talking and trying to work things out versus trying to get things done,” Johnson said, via Cronin, of the October negotiations. “Up until this weekend, nothing was done. I figured I wanted some different opportunities to see what else was out there for me. Really, other than that, that’s about it.”
Still, the prospect of Sweat being paid first does not sit too well with Johnson. The former second-round pick, whom Pro Football Focus ranks third among corners this season, said (via CBS Sports) “it wouldn’t” go over too well with him if the Bears paid Sweat before extending him. With Johnson not sounding too enthused about restarting negotiations during the season, present circumstances introduce the risk of seeing that happen. Though mutual interest exists between the Bears and Johnson on a second contract, the Utah alum added he is “100%” interested in seeing what is out there for him in free agency.
“Here’s the thing. I don’t want to lose Jaylon Johnson,” Poles said. “If I were to lose Jaylon Johnson, I would like to have a high percentage of hitting on another Jaylon Johnson, which to me, is a late first and into early second. Really simple there. That didn’t happen. We are still open to getting a contract done. I know we’re going to follow Jaylon’s lead on how he wants to go about doing that but we’re still open.”
Sweat being paid early would open the door to the Bears tagging Johnson, but no team has cuffed a corner with the tag since the Rams retagged Trumaine Johnson in 2017. That said, the Bears did use the transition tag on Kyle Fuller in 2018, soon matching a Packers offer sheet to retain him. The transition tag price is expected to come in just south of $17MM, with the franchise tag at nearly $20MM. With the transition tag not providing any compensation for a team if a player signs an unmatched offer sheet, teams rarely use this tag.
The Bears will now see how Matt Eberflus‘ defense looks with Sweat opposite Yannick Ngakoue, with Johnson anchoring the secondary. All three of these players being in contract years (and Eberflus’ seat warming) injects uncertainty into this situation. Though, Sweat can probably count on being in Chicago past 2023.
Why not just wait until FA to get him and save the pick? Irrational trade as was the same for the WR last year.
Yep. And why try to win games at this point for a lower draft pick, and why risk him getting hurt, and what if he doesn’t want to stay? If he doesn’t sign a new contract ASAP that’s a massive red flag.
I get why the GM & HC want to win, to save their jobs. But that’s when their bosses have to override the deal.
Should return a comp pick if he doesn’t stay.
To get a Comp pick the Bears would have to spend less in FA than they lose. And that surely isn’t going to happen this off season. Their only move to make if they don’t resign either of them is to tag both of them.
To get the exclusive rights to negotiate with him and not have to outbid a preferred destination
That will be worth it. So he’ll be miserable on a losing team with an inept coaching staff and poor culture. Yeah, that will convince him to stay…
If Poles waited there would certainly be other suitors to compete against at probly higher price after the season. And he wouldn’t have the option to tag him without the trade. It makes total sense.
Atlanta was very close to getting Sweat. It’s highly unlikely he would’ve made it to free agency if he ended up there. I still think it’s highly unlikely he’ll make it to free agency anyway.
For sure. The Bears are going to have to severely over pay Sweat though. He has them over a barrel.
Johnson, on the other hand, not so much. 3 career picks. That doesn’t get you paid top CB money
He doesn’t have the Bears over a barrel. If he doesn’t resign with them he’s going to get tagged., And every player LOVES that. In fact both Johnson and Sweat will probably both get tagged. The only thing we agree on is that the Bears will probably have to overpay at least one of them. Probably Sweat as they have nobody like him on the Bears. The Bears have quite a few decent CB’s.
Can’t tag them both, only get 1 pert team/year
As i asked in another article. There is another tag that can be used called the transition tag. It hasn’t been used often but it can be used to get compensation for both. So you’re wrong they can’t tag both. So no barrel.
No, you’re wrong. They had 3 options on 1 player. Exclusive or non exclusive franchise tag and the transition tag. 1 player a year for 1 of those options
Yes they could tag them both.. There’s the franchise tag they could use on Sweat and transitional tag they could use on Johnson (like they did with Kyle Fuller several years ago).
Teams may only use one of the Transition or Franchise tags per off-season.
GM Poles amateurishly took a lot of risk and overpaid in draft capital once again. It can now only be mitigated by overpaying both players, which they’d also have to do on the open market anyway.
However, the organization is flush with $100M in caproom next year that can grow another $15M by designating Whitehair & Jackson June 1st cuts in the off-season (likely).
Just pay those two already…starting with Jaylon. Get it done Poles!
What was given up is the bigger issue to me. If you supposedly want to build a team in the right way you need draft capital, not overpaying a likely second round pick for guys closer to 30 than from it (and never had more than 10 sacks in a season).
I get that year statistically teams hitting on a pick is this or that, but at least try. Unless Poles is admitting his draft team sucks?
A 2nd round pick for a player of Sweat’s caliber, given his age and pedigree, is a fair deal. Not a fleecing for either team.
Why didn’t they just keep the 2nd and sign him in free agency? You don’t need him or many more wins this year.
As pointed out earlier the falcons were trying to get Sweat. The trade was smart because the franchise tag could be used and the team has him for 1 1/2 years. Also tell me this do you think that high 2nd rd pick could come in day one and produce at Sweats level?
As for Jaylon Johnson why would he be upset if Sweat got extended first isn’t he the one who said he will not discuss an extension in season after the trade deadline? I mean he says he wants to stay and doesn’t want to reset the cornerback market and Poles claims he wants to keep Johnson so I’m not understanding what the hold up is. There is no excuse for the team, with the most cap space, to have this hard of time extending contracts of their own players
Trade was dumb for the Bears. 2nd rounder for a guy who never has had more than 10 sacks per season AND you are not even guaranteed to have him after this season, or you have to tag him and pay maybe far more than you wanted to for him for that year, OR he sits out and you have THAT drama on this team on top of the other crap??
I’m sure he is going to LOVE going to a team in the dumpster as well (instead of a playoff team).
And for a team who needs to develop their talent to rebuild, its a dumb move.. unless Poles is basically saying he has no faith in his org to draft competent players.
“Also tell me this do you think that high 2nd rd pick could come in day one and produce at Sweats level?”
Sure, why not? The 2nd round has the highest hit rate in the NFL.
The Bears traded what will likely be a very high 2nd round pick for a 10 week rental. Pretty foolish move.
Btw, anybody else notice right after the Bears outbid Atlanta for Sweat, who had worked out an agreed upon new contract with his agent, ATL poached DT Travis Bell off the Bears practice squad?
It compounds the mistake made by Poles. The kid should’ve been on the active roster all along, or elevated upon the claim. He goes home to ATL and will likely produce more than other Bears lineman who will not be on the roster next year.
Lots of mistakes by Poles…
If any team is poaching from the Bears practice squad then their timeline for winning a championship will need to be at least 50 years. Oh wait!…the Falcons have already surpassed that.
Im having a hard time having faith in Poles at this point. Two wasted high second rounders being squandered when the team desperately needs them to build properly.. Even if Sweat does well this season it just helps the Bears when they should be tanking hard to get the 1 and 2nd overall pick. and spare me the garbage about winning. The Bears need all the talent they can try to get via Draft and most of these players they have will not be around for it. If the Bears really wanted to win they would have done a better job in all depts at Halas hall. They didn’t but now there is this halfhearted effort to get better, which will just cost them in more ways than one….
The root of the problem is that an owner gets an equal revenue share regardless of how his team performs. So there is really no incentive for an owner to improve the product he puts on the field. If revenue share was tied to team performance you would see some major changes. Unfortunately, teams like the Bears, Jets and Browns can be ineptly hopeless for an entire decade or more and still turn a profit. That would never happen in any other industry.