In addition to Montez Sweat, the Chicago Bears have yet to recruit a top pass rusher, but they have made it clear that they intend to do so.
Chicago and the New England Patriots participated in the Matthew Judon sweepstakes, but the Chicago team ultimately came in second in the bidding behind the Atlanta Falcons. Nonetheless, the Bears’ interest in Judon suggests that they are prepared to take decisive action to address the shortcoming and acknowledge that their incapacity to pressure rival quarterbacks is a problem.
Ultimately, Judon left for the Falcons in exchange for a third-round pick in 2025, a move that Chicago was clearly unable to match. However, being unable and unwilling are not synonymous. The Bears will have a third-round pick in the NFL draft of the following year in addition to their two second-round selections (their own and the Carolina Panthers’).
Given Chicago’s situation, it is reasonable to assume that the Bears will at the very least check with the New York Jets on outside linebacker Haason Reddick’s availability.
Reddick was a two-time Pro Bowl player (2022, 2023) who totaled 27 sacks in his final two seasons before being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Jets this offseason. Reddick is requesting a raise from his $15 million yearly salary as he approaches the last year of his $45 million contract.
So bad have the extension talks with the Jets gone, Reddick has asked to be traded before he has even played a snap for the team. Though New York has openly rejected that request, a win-win situation for all parties concerned could result from the right offer from a team like Chicago (probably its own second-round pick).
With a second-round pick in exchange for Haason Reddick, the Bears can keep the Jets winners.
It’s reasonable to wonder why the Bears traded a second-round pick for Reddick when they were unable to part with a third-round pick for Judon.
However, Reddick, who will soon turn 30, is two years younger than Judon, which is the first reason Chicago is willing to play ball in that selection range. Over the course of his seven-year career, Reddick has also missed just one of 115 regular-season games, whereas Judon missed 13 games in 2023 as a result of a torn biceps.
Reddick has recorded double-digit sacks in four straight seasons, with a career-high of sixteen in 2022. In that season, he was selected to the second team of the Pro Bowl for the second time in a row in 2023.
Not surprise, the Jets are reluctant to part with Reddick. However, if Reddick fails to meet the incentives of recording 10 sacks and playing 67.5% of the defense’s snaps in 2024, New York would owe Philadelphia a third-round selection. The Jets will need to send the Eagles a second-round pick if he passes both of those tests.
The Eagles may attempt to trade Reddick if Philly determines it cannot afford to pay a premium for a one-year rental and cannot keep him. The Bears make sense because Chicago is one of the four teams that The 33rd Team believes is the most likely destination for Reddick, should he decide to leave New York.
The Jets would then essentially act as a conduit linking Reddick from Philly through New York to Chicago if the Bears provide them a second-round pick (likely in the mid- or late-round). In such case, the Bears’ 2025 second-round pick and the Jets’ third-round selection would be exchanged.
Bears’ Pass Rush Would Be Amazing if Haason Reddick and Montez Sweat were in the starting lineup.
Reddick’s objective is undoubtedly to get a big-time extension at a prime position while his value is at its highest; if the Jets are unwilling to grant it, the Bears may be.
In exchange for Sweat, Chicago surrendered a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders prior to the trade deadline in the previous campaign. The defensive end and the Bears signed a four-year, $98 million contract extension shortly afterward.
Over the course of a three-year contract valued at about $79 million, Spotrac predicts Reddick’s market value to be in the similar ballpark each year ($26.4 million per season). As of Saturday, Chicago’s salary cap space for the 2024 campaign was slightly under $21.5 million; the team could use that money to fund an extension in that range.
Reddick and Sweat would provide the Bears, who had fielded one of the worst pass-rushing teams in the league the previous two seasons, with two edge rushers who ended with double-digit sacks last season.
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