The Chicago Bears are still in the market for a pass rusher to play opposite Montez Sweat.
Multiple reports indicated that the Bears were involved in trade discussions for New England Patriots edge defender Matthew Judon and offered a third-round pick in exchange. However, Judon preferred the Atlanta Falcons, who sent a third-rounder to New England for the 32-year-old.
“We’re always looking across the league to find opportunities to make our team better,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said during Chicago’s Week 2 preseason broadcast. “Obviously, they’ve got to make sense all the way around. When those doors open, we’re gonna go through them and have those conversations.”
Will Poles and the Bears make a move for a pass rusher before the regular season begins? Here are five trades Chicago could consider in the coming weeks.
5 Pass-Rusher Trades Bears Should Consider Before Week 1
Montez Sweat bolstered the Bears’ pass rush after joining the club via trade last October, posting six sacks in nine games.
Still, Chicago rarely blitzes, so it needs another edge rusher capable of winning 1-on-1 matchups. According to TruMedia, the Bears posted the NFL’s worst pressure rate (27.6%) when rushing four in 2023. No defense generated less EPA via sacks on a per-snap basis on those snaps.
Veteran DeMarcus Walker is set to return as a starter after playing two-thirds of Chicago’s defensive snaps last season. Holdovers Dominique Robinson and Daniel Hardy, rookie Austin Booker (who posted six pressures and 2.5 sacks in the Bears’ preseason opener), and offseason addition Jacob Martin are competing for rotational snaps.
Let’s examine five potential EDGE acquisitions that could help Chicago target opposing quarterbacks in 2024, ranked roughly in order of their potential impact and how easily the Bears could trade for them.
5) Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Bears acquire: EDGE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
- Buccaneers acquire: 2025 sixth-round pick
The Buccaneers declined Joe Tryon-Shoyinka’s 2025 fifth-year option, an expected decision after the former first-round choice was demoted in favor of rookie YaYa Diaby near the end of last season.
Tryon-Shoyinka can still be a rotational pass rusher — which may be enough for the Bears — but Tampa Bay might be ready to move on. The Bucs invested a 2024 second-round choice on Alabama EDGE Chris Braswell, who would be in line for more snaps with Tyron-Shoyina off the roster.
Tryton-Shoyinka has only one season left on his contract, so acquiring him shouldn’t cost Chicago much. A late-round pick might be able to do the job.
4) Baron Browning, Denver Broncos
- Bears acquire: EDGE Baron Browning
- Broncos acquire: 2025 fifth-round pick, OT Larry Borom
Baron Browning has never played over 600 snaps in a season, but he’s always flashed when not battling injury concerns.
In 2023, Browning managed 35 pressures on just 246 pass-rushing snaps, ranking 25th in PFF‘s pass-rushing productivity metric. He’s going into the final year of his rookie contract, so the Bears could consider signing him to a cheap extension.
Denver added third-round Utah EDGE Jonah Elliss in April’s draft and still has holdovers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper as stand-up, outside pass rushers in Vance Joseph’s defense.
Larry Borom has NFL experience at every offensive line spot except for center. He’d become the Broncos’ swing tackle behind Garret Bolles and Mike McGlinchey but could play guard in a pinch.
3) Dennis Gardeck, Arizona Cardinals
- Bears acquire: EDGE Dennis Gardeck
- Cardinals acquire: 2025 fifth-round pick, EDGE Dominique Robinson
Dennis Gardeck may not be a household name, but he was one of the NFL’s most effective rushers on a per-snap basis in 2023.
Among players with at least 200 pass-rushing snaps last season, Gardeck’s 18.3% pressure rate ranked third-best in the league, per TruMedia. The 31-year-old trailed only Micah Parsons and Bryce Huff and finished tied with Myles Garrett and Josh Hines-Allen.
Gardeck played fewer than 500 defensive snaps in 2023 and only rushed the passer 229 times. He likely wouldn’t keep up his efficiency with more snaps, but the Bears could use him in a rotation.
While Chicago might not want to trade Robinson after he’s reportedly stood out during training camp practices, Poles could swap Robinson’s upside for a known quantity in Gardeck.
2) Darrell Taylor, Seattle Seahawks
- Bears acquire: EDGE Darrell Taylor
- Seahawks acquire: OL Ja’Tyre Carter
The Seahawks were reportedly willing to trade Darrell Taylor at the 2023 deadline before fellow pass rusher Uchenna Nwosu went down with a season-ending pectoral injury.
Ten months later, Taylor isn’t a lock to make Seattle’s roster under new head coach Mike Macdonald. He’s buried behind Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Dre’Mont Jones, and Derick Hall on the Seahawks’ EDGE depth chart and played into the second half of the club’s second preseason game.
While the Bears won’t want Taylor setting the edge against the run, he’s posted at least 25 pressures and five sacks in each of the last three seasons, including a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2022.
Ja’Tyre Carter is a fringe roster candidate in Chicago, where Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor project as the top interior backups. A 2023 seventh-round pick, Carter is primarily a guard but has spent time at tackle this offseason.
1) Haason Reddick, New York Jets
- Bears acquire: EDGE Haason Reddick
- Jets acquire: Conditional 2026 third-round pick
- Becomes a second-round pick if Reddick plays 67.5% of Chicago’s defensive snaps and has 10 sacks in 2024
Hasson Reddick, of course, has already been traded this offseason. The New York Jets acquired him from the Philadelphia Eagles in March without agreeing to a contract extension.
Reddick, hoping for a raise over the $15 million he’s due in 2024, has avoided Gang Green’s training camp and the preseason. Last week, he officially requested a trade; unsurprisingly, the Jets said they wouldn’t consider a deal.
New York gave Philadelphia a conditional 2026 third-rounder for Reddick. Chicago could offer the Jets the same proposal, allowing general manager Joe Douglas to pretend the Reddick disaster was a nightmare that never happened.
Poles and the Bears front office were willing to trade a 2025 third-round pick for Judon, who is two years older than Reddick and played in only four games last season.
Working out Reddick’s compensation could be a little more complicated, but Chicago has $20+ million in available salary cap space and almost $40 million in projected 2025 room.
The Bears could give Reddick the pay bump he wants while using a prorated signing bonus and void years to spread his money across multiple seasons.
Reddick, 29, has 50.5 sacks since 2020, fourth-most in the league behind T.J. Watt, Garrett, and Trey Hendrickson. Reddick and Sweat would instantly become one of the NFL’s best EDGE duos.
If training camp standout Gervon Dexter Sr. emerges on the interior, Chicago’s front would become terrifying.