“What Are The Bears Doing?” – NFL Pundit Perplexed By Chicago’s Decision To Trade For Montez Sweat

In the final year of his contract, and as a free agent at season’s end, questions about his future in Chicago are in the atmosphere as he hopes to get a new contract.

The Chicago Bears traded away their 2024 second-round pick to the Washington Commanders to acquire the 27-year-old edge rusher Montez Sweat.

Some hours later, the Commanders shipped Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick.

After these 24 hours, whether or not Sweat will look to sign an extension to stay in Chicago is still being processed, still trying to figure out everything.

Sweat commented,

“Obviously, a player always wants to have security playing the sport that we’re playing, but I mean, I’m sure everything will work itself out. I mean, I’m not really into the contract talks, so I don’t really know too much about leverage and all that type of stuff. I’m just taking it one day at a time. Everything is happening kind of fast right now. I’m just waiting for it to slow down and hit the ground running when we get there.”

Sports pundit, Andrew Brandt also shared his thoughts on the Bears trade, he appeared on Ross Tucker Podcast and shared,

“Still haven’t seen anything about the Bears extending the contract of Montez Sweat. If not, they have traded a high 2nd round pick – probably in the 33-40 range overall—for half a season of Sweat. After trading a high 2nd-round last year for Chase Claypool. I don’t get it.”

He has spent five NFL seasons and has 6 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits this season.

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Unlike most players, Montez Sweat is not eagerly anticipating a new deal. Just one day after being acquired by the Chicago Bears for a second-round draft pick, Sweat said, “I just want to consider everything around me before I make a decision.” It was an interesting statement about his readiness for an extension that can be seen in two different ways.

On one hand, some might see this as a negotiation tactic by Sweat’s camp. Since Chicago gave up a valuable draft spot for him, they want the relationship to last much longer than the remainder of this season. Especially since the Bears are not in contention. By appearing non-commital, Montez Sweat could pressure the Bears into overpaying to keep him, thus fattening his pockets.

However, Sweat could be completely serious about this sentiment. The Bears have been a messy organization for a while, so maybe he’d prefer to experience the environment before making Chicago his new long-term home. If Sweat is disillusioned with the Bears, he can choose his next team as a free agent following the season.

In Montez Sweat, Chicago is getting a guy with 35.5 career sacks since 2019. He’s already up to 6.5 this year and on his way to the first double-digit sack season of his career. Sweat also has nine career forced fumbles. 2022 was the only season when Sweat didn’t force multiple.

Sweat has only missed seven starts in his career and they all came in 2021. So, along with top-tier production, he is also durable. Someone will gladly pay him handsomely to play along their defensive front. Let’s see if Chicago will pony up enough before any other general manager gets a chance to negotiate with him.