The Chicago Bears could prioritize a new edge rusher in the first few rounds of the 2025 NFL draft next week, but the latest trade rumors surrounding one of the league’s premier talents suggest there is one final call worth making.
Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers superstar pass rusher T.J. Watt spawned trade rumors when he posted a photo of himself flashing the “peace out” sign to his Instagram story. The implication, to some, is that Watt — whose $112 million contract ends after 2025 — is signaling that he is unhappy with the progress made in negotiations with the team.
If Watt does want out of Pittsburgh, Bleacher Report’s Kurt Benkert believes the Bears could become one of his top suitors and even pitched a trade scenario in which they would give up multiple premium draft picks to acquire the seven-time Pro Bowler.
The proposed trade would see the Bears send off their 2025 first-round pick (No. 10) along with their 2026 first- and second-rounders to acquire Watt from the Steelers. They would then need to negotiate a new contract with Watt before the season — or at least find a way to lower his current $30 million cap hit in the final year of his deal.
“They can pay the man, and they have a quarterback on a rookie deal, which is super helpful. They’ve got a young team and they have an offensive coordinator that can actually do the thing in their new head coach,” Benkert said. “They need a guy that can get pressure. I think the Bears could be a problem, and they have the draft capital to do it.”
T.J. Watt Would Give Bears Franchise-Altering Superstar
The Bears pulling off a trade for Watt would be a blockbuster in a league of its own — above even the 2018 trade they made to acquire All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack.
Watt has been one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive players over the past eight seasons, recording 108 sacks and 225 quarterback hits in 121 starts for the Steelers. He won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021 and has finished as a Pro Bowl in each of his last seven seasons, including in 2022 when he played just 10 games.
If the Bears found a way to add him to their line opposite Montez Sweat and the newly signed Dayo Odeyingbo, he would provide them with a franchise-altering piece who would decisively smash open their Super Bowl window for the next few seasons.
Watt is not a risk-free move, though.
The Bears would likely have no problem paying the high-end trade cost for Watt if they believe they can get the 2023 version of him (19 sacks, first-team All-Pro), but finding an agreeable contract extension price would present a significant challenge with them already heavily committed in their defensive trenches between Sweat and Odeyingbo.
According to Over the Cap, the Bears will have a projected $54 million in cap space for the 2026 season, which is enough to make moves but likely not enough to pay Watt in the range of Myles Garrett’s new deal — which reset the market at $40 million annually.
Will T.J. Watt’s Situation End the Same as Myles Garrett’s?
Speaking of Garrett, the new trade rumors about Watt are similar to the ones about the Cleveland Browns superstar that dominated headlines earlier in the 2025 offseason.
Will the two situations ultimately end the same way, too?
Garrett officially requested a trade away from the Browns in early February, expressing a desire to compete for a Super Bowl elsewhere. Ultimately, after insisting they would not trade him, the Browns resolved Garrett’s grievances and signed him to a four-year, $160 million extension that will tie him to the team through the end of the 2030 season.
The same could happen with the Steelers and Watt; although, it is important to note that Watt has not requested a trade out of Pittsburgh despite his social media activity.
For now, the Steelers have no reason to move urgently with Watt unless they feel they are at risk of alienating him by waiting until closer to the season to lock in a new deal. If they reach the other side of training camp in late August and do not have a new contract in place for Watt, though, they could force their star to consider holding out on them.
