The Chicago Bears have made a flurry of roster moves over the past month to account for the departure of Keenan Allen and fortify their receiving corps, but they could still make another one — via trade — before the NFL draft arrives.
Allen remains unsigned, but his chances of returning to Chicago appear slim after the Bears signed contracts with wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay and Miles Boykin during the first waves of NFL free agency. The Bears also have veteran D.J. Moore and 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze returning for the 2025 season.
Even still, the Bears are constructing a new offense under the direction of first-year head coach Ben Johnson, who built a reputation as an offensive guru in Detroit. That’s why CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin predicts the Bears could become a “landing spot” for Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert if Philadelphia tries to offload him on the trade market.
“Cole Kmet is fairly accomplished at tight end in the Windy City, but he’s also had bouts of inconsistency,” Benjamin wrote. “Goedert could help offset the loss of Keenan Allen. And he’s got a probable backer in the front office, as assistant general manager Ian Cunningham worked for the Eagles when Goedert was drafted.”
How Much Value Would Dallas Goedert Trade Add?
If the Eagles want to move Goedert (and general manager Howie Roseman took a noncommittal stance when asked about it recently), the Bears could make a call given Cunningham’s connections to him and Johnson’s desire to add more playmakers.
How much value would a 30-year-old Goedert genuinely add to the Bears, though?
Goedert has 349 receptions for 4,085 yards and 24 touchdowns over his seven seasons with the Eagles and has demonstrated a reliable pair of hands, finishing with a career-high catch percentage (80.8) in 2024. When healthy, he has the potential to function as a primary passing target for an offense deserving of multiple targets every game.
The problem is Goedert struggles with the “when healthy” part. He has played just one full season in his seven-year career (as a rookie in 2018) and has missed 15 games over the past three seasons alone for the Eagles, a fact at the center of his trade speculation.
The 30-year-old tight end is also relatively expensive. The Eagles would lose roughly $9.3 million in cap space dealing him away this offseason, per Over the Cap, which means an acquiring team would remain on the hook to pay him about $11.76 million in the final year of his $57 million contract.
That same team, however, would add a $23.83 million cap charge to their 2026 books — during a void year in which Goedert is no longer on the roster.
In other words, the Bears would likely need to extend Goedert in addition to giving up assets to acquire him in a trade, and that’s far from advisable at this stage in his career.
Bears Are Better Off Targeting a TE in 2025 NFL Draft
The Bears may not have any interest in adding another veteran tight end to their roster in either free agency or through the NFL trade market. After all, starter Cole Kmet will return while the team also signed veteran blocking tight end Durham Smythe in March.
The Bears, however, could still prioritize the position in the 2025 NFL draft if they find an appropriate prospect who suits the needs of Johnson’s re-tuned offensive scheme.
The Bears have four picks in the first three rounds of this month’s draft and could look to supplement the tight end position with any one of them. They might even consider using their top selection (No. 10 overall) on one of the most formidable talents in the class in Penn State’s Tyler Warren — a projected first-round pick and polished player.
If the board does not fall in a way that favors a big swing at the position, the Bears may also wait until Day 3 of the draft with the intent to target a tight end who qualifies as more of a project. They are in a good position to add a less prestigious tight end — such as, perhaps, Georgia’s Ben Yurosek or Clemson’s Jake Briningstool — on the final day of the draft if they want to focus on other positions with their higher-valued selections.
Either way, the Bears would likely get better long-term value out of drafting a new tight end than trying to trade for a veteran such as Goedert.
