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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
The Chicago Bears occupy an interesting position in that their time is now, but also has been so for the past couple of seasons.
General manager Ryan Poles has swung big, but whiffed at least one too many times and is now running moves by team president and CEO Kevin Warren. Warren took the mic in a joint press conference ahead of the team’s head coaching search and noted expressly that he and Poles would be evaluating candidates and making the decision together.
But just because Poles may have an extra layer of scrutiny to bypass before making big moves does not mean those big moves are going to stop. With former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson now running the show on the sidelines, protecting Caleb Williams so as to allow him to reach his ceiling is probably priority one. However, the team also needs to add to its pass rush, and star defensive end Myles Garrett is publicly pushing the Cleveland Browns for a trade.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell authored a deep dive on what teams are candidates to trade for Garrett, and which are the true frontrunners. He named three franchises that are in the “sweet spot” of the latter category, starting with the Bears.
“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,” Barnwell wrote on Thursday, February 13. “With an extra second-round pick still coming from the 2023 trade with the [Carolina] 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.”
Bears Should Be Able to Acquire Myles Garrett for 1st, 2nd-Round Draft Picks
GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
Through an intensive evaluation process, Barnwell essentially came to the conclusion that a first-round pick is the bare minimum return in a trade package for Garrett.
However, because the defensive end is about to be 30 years old, two firsts is probably a little high — at least from a team like Chicago that would be sending over the No. 10 overall pick in 2025 in any deal that goes down this offseason.
The Bears own two second-rounders (Nos. 39 and 41). Thus, in Barnwell’s proposal Chicago would part with pick Nos. 10 and 39 for Garrett and still have pick No. 41 to draft a high-level offensive guard capable of starting as a rookie.
Myles Garrett Arguably Best Pass Rusher in NFL Over Past 5 Years
GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
At that point, the Bears could turn to free agency and potentially make a play for someone like Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith to help shore up what was a problematic interior in front of Williams throughout his rookie season.
Chicago’s offensive line woes might not be erased by acquiring Smith and a top rookie guard early in the second round, but the two additions would go a long way toward that end and would also be affordable even after picking up the last two years of Garrett’s $125 million contract.
Garrett’s presence would go a long way toward solving the Bears’ pass rush issues, as he is the first player in NFL history to tally 14 sacks in four consecutive seasons, which he accomplished between 2021-24. He is also a six-time All-Pro, earning that honor in each of the last five years.
