Bears Pitched to Pursue 2,300-Yard RB Amid Blockbuster Trade Rumors

The Chicago Bears are still trying to figure out their backfield for the 2025 NFL season after walking out of last month’s draft without a top-rated running back prospect. The latest NFL trade rumors, however, suggest they may still have an avenue to add a promising young talent and former top pick for their offense in 2025.

New York Jets running back Breece Hall — the top-selected running back in 2022 — has been the center of trade rumors for the past several weeks, beginning when NFL insider Josina Anderson shared a report about Hall’s “potential availability” during draft week.

“League source tells me they’ve heard about the potential* availability of #Jets RB Breece Hall ‘within the last week and a half,'” Anderson wrote on X on April 24.

Hall also made a cryptic post on his X account following Anderson’s report, sending out a fingers-crossed emoji that further fueled rumors that the Jets could deal him away.

Ultimately, the Jets did not trade Hall during the draft, but they could keep the option open in the months ahead as they prepare for the 2025 regular season. And if they do, Windy City Gridiron’s Aaron Leming believes the Bears could become a trade suitor.

“Hall is the ‘cream of the crop’ of potential trade targets, but might also be the least likely to get dealt,” Leming wrote. “There were plenty of pre-draft rumors about him being on the move, but nothing has come to fruition.”

Breece Hall Checks Several Boxes for Bears’ Offense

The Bears will have multiple options to consider, both on the trade market and in free agency, if they decide they want to add another experienced runner to the mix for 2025. In terms of fit, though, Leming is right that Hall stands out as the “cream of the crop.”

Hall has struggled with inconsistency as a running back over the past two seasons with the Jets, but he has also rushed for 1,870 yards and 10 touchdowns in that span while showing a strong ability to generate yards after contact. Additionally, he has excelled as a receiver, tallying 133 receptions for 1,074 yards and seven touchdowns since 2023.

Another aspect of Hall’s game that should intrigue the Bears: He is a generally reliable pass-catcher whom the Jets regularly trusted to keep their quarterbacks safe. He would still need to refine that side of his game if the Bears were to add him to Ben Johnson’s everybody-blocks offense in 2025, but a good foundation is in place in that regard.

The problem with Hall is the price tag. The Bears can justify taking a risk on him even if they are comfortable letting him test the open market as a free agent in 2026, but they could balk at the idea if the Jets want a pricey trade return for their top running back.

Would Bears Prefer to Sign RB Instead of Making Trade?

Hall is a compelling option for the Bears to consider if the Jets are truly shopping him in trade talks. Then again, Chicago might prefer to sign a veteran off the street if they decide they want to add another running back to their backfield before training camp.

As Leming noted, there are two above-the-rest options still available in free agency at the running back position: former Cleveland Browns bruiser Nick Chubb and 2024 Los Angeles Chargers Comeback Player of the Year contender J.K. Dobbins.

Chubb remains an unsigned free agent and seems unlikely to return to Cleveland after the Browns drafted Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson during the 2025 NFL draft. The Bears, however, will want to make sure that the significant knee injury that ended his 2023 season in Week 2 and kept him out into 2024 is not a lingering concern.

As for Dobbins, he rushed for a career-high 905 yards and nine touchdowns for L.A. in 2024 despite playing in just 13 games. He is also an injury concern, having missed four games in 2024, 16 games in 2023, nine games in 2022 and the entire 2021 season, but the Bears may feel he is an acceptable risk as a low-cost supplemental investment.

Neither Chubb nor Dobbins projects to cost much money. The Bears also wouldn’t need to give up a draft pick to add either one of them, making them more sensible bets if the team feels it needs a complement for D’Andre Swift and not a workhorse replacement.