Weighing merits of two floated Chicago Bears trade proposals

The worthless suggestion is trading Cole Kmet to the Dolphins for a third-round pick. No one knows whether Miami even is willing to trade a third for a tight end.

The return would be fine but this fails to consider the idea Ben Johnson has for his Bears offense is heavy 12-personnel use, and by far the best way the Bears will accomplish this in 2025 is with Kmet playing the Y or in-line tight end position.

Bears need two quality tight ends

Tight end is actually two distinct positions in Johnson's offense and not the same one.

They really have no one else close to Kmet's level on the roster as a blocker/receiver for the Y tight end spot. Durham Smythe has some ability to be a third tight end for them but moving a 6-foot-6, 246-pound player into a role heavily involved in blocking at the age of 30 is not usually a formula for success. Smythe's blocking grades have not been better overall in the running game than Kmet's, anyway.

Kmet is needed more than an extra third-round pick next year to make that aspect of Johnson's offense work, as he teams with Colston Loveland. And whether the Dolphins need a tight end is irrelevant to the Bears' interests.

The other trade hits the mark better as it requires the Bears to give up a third-round pick to Jacksonville for running back Travis Etienne. Ultimately, it also fails.

It's open to debate whether the Bears could come up with a better running back than Etienne next year with the third-rounder they would trade. What is certain is if they choose to use a first- or second-round pick for a running back next year they could definitely come up with a better one than Etienne.

Beyond all that, there is no Bears urgent need at running back for now, or at least until they get a better grip on the running back group they currently have with preseason games.

Etienne is a curious study. He had a very good rookie year with a 5.1-yard rushing average but didn't hit 4.0 his next two years. He did hit 1,000 yards both of his first two seasons but last year lost carries to Tank Bigsby and gained 558 yards.

If a team thought he was a long-term answer with numbers like those and with his skill level, then a move would be worth making.

Back's cost for 2026 too high

Etienne's bad numbers last year could be chalked up to an inefficient, bad offense with the Jaguars.

Reality check: He'd be going to the Bears, where his offensive coordinator from last year, Press Taylor is the passing game coordinator. It doesn't seem like a really good fit for that reason alone, but many said the same thing about D'Andre Swift and Ben Johnson.

Ultimately, though, the Bears need to see what they've got in Kyle Monangai and maybe even how they could use Roschon Johnson before they pursue a running back who has questionable numbers, is in a contract year and would cost them far more cap space next season with a second contract than drafting their own running back would.

Who trades away a third-round pick to get a running who would be with them for a year? Because, that's how long they would have him unless they wanted to pay an excessive amount for a veteran running back. That's not a desireable option in today's NFL.

If PFN wanted to fit the Bears up with a trade, they should have tried to find a pass rusher because roster pickup Tanoh Kpassagnon has lacked much pass rush value over the course of his career. The Bears can still use that third sack artist for a situational role.

The Bears definitely need an edge rusher more than they need to trade away Cole Kmet and more than they need a back whose value would be questionable considering his cost for 2026.