The last time the Chicago Bears swapped head coaches in the middle of a rebuild, they decided to take a bold swing on the trade market by prying Khalil Mack away from the Las Vegas Raiders. It catapulted the team to a division title in 2018 and what felt like a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl. Of course we all know what happened that fateful day on wildcard weekend, but it was still the most fun Bears fans have had in years. That is why many of them are wondering if lightning could strike twice with the sudden availability of Myles Garrett.
Nobody disputes the former Defensive Player of the Year is the best pass rusher in the NFL. It’s been that way since Aaron Donald retired. Presuming he stays on his current course for four or five more years, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame. Of course, he’d like to do that having won a championship, which he fears won’t happen in Cleveland. Hence, the request for a trade. Bill Barnwell of ESPN sees three teams as the likeliest landing sports for the All-Pro star, and Chicago is among them.
With $65 million in cap space, they could afford to add Garrett and still have the ability to address their offensive line in free agency. With an extra second-round pick still coming from the 2023 trade with the Panthers, they have extra capital if they did decide to make an offer for Garrett. If they believe Johnson can help bring along cost-controlled talent on offense, focusing their spending on the defense would make sense.
The Bears aren’t a Myles Garrett away from a title.
That is the simple fact. They have a talented roster in certain areas, but it’s also flawed. Their offensive line, running back, and tight end rooms need serious work. The defensive line could use another pass rusher. Pairing Myles Garrett with Montez Sweat would be loads of fun. However, the defense already has a ton of money sunk into it. The Bears have to start balancing the books with investments on the offensive side. Use those high draft choices on young players. Too often, they’ve been giving them up for guys like Sweat, Chase Claypool, Mack, Anthony Miller, Mitch Trubisky, and Jay Cutler. Garrett won’t fix the other problems on this roster, as great as he is.
This defensive line would be pretty scary with Garrett and Sweat. I think he would raise the overall play of everyone on that side of the ball. Splitting 20 sacks between them would be a beautiful sight and would cause some D coordinators a few sleepless nights in prep. Of course it would be really nice to find a player with a similar skill set in the draft and save all of your resources instead. 2025 will be an important year for the Bears and for Poles. If he doesn’t receive an extension I can see him going all in… Read more »
Wish I could contribute something about drugs and the ridiculing of Erik, but I can’t. We did go to an African/Nigerian/Mali restaurant in Soho though. They do not serve alcohol. But they got my goat just right with the J rice. Any questions? Any at all? Any? None? (It’s only 2am. My partner is watching the Revenant. She is from Grizzly Bear country.)
@Barry, I have to admit, the idea of trading Garrett and Watson as a package is intriguing. The Bears could take some of the cap hit (not all of it), and cut Watson ASAP. This never would have happened while Virginia was alive, but now, who knows? It would still make me cringe a bit that Watson was on the team I have rooted for since the 1970’s, but I don’t anticipate him making any difference, being active for any games, and most importantly, having the opportunity to act inappropriately to Bears training staff. (As another aside, gotta say that… Read more »
@TGena: Yes, I did see your post about Gladstone. If you had done a modicum of research, you would find that I even replied to it, positively. And I certainly am capable of learning, as well as teaching. My most recent accepted article is in a journal for teaching physics. You, on the other hand, as best as I can tell, see some evidence, form an opinion, and then refuse to learn anything new about it, or move off of it. I can’t count the number of times I had to explain in posts (basically to address your poor arguments)… Read more »
@TGena – I wonder sometimes if the reason the Bears have made so many high profile trades going right back to Pace acquiring Mack, or Angelo bringing in Cutler is the fact they realize they are simply very poor as an organization at drafting and developing true stars? I’m not talking about a guy here or there, but enough within a few years to build a contender.
What do you think?