Chicago Bears: 3 trade packages involving O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate

The Chicago Bears now have a great opportunity to land a Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end following the Rob Gronkowski trade.

Tuesday afternoon was a joyride for NFL fans. Not only is the 2020 NFL Draft just hours away, but we received a bomb of information within minutes. Tight end Rob Gronkowski ended up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when all was said and done, and the Chicago Bears now have a golden opportunity.

Let’s back up for a minute, though. For those catching up, Tuesday afternoon it was made public that Gronkowski wished to return to football, except wanting to join his former quarterback Tom Brady with the Bucs.

Just minutes later, there were reports of a potential trade between the two teams getting done within 24 hours.

Then, just a few more minutes later, the deal was done. Tampa Bay gets Gronkowski and a 2020 seventh-round pick from New England, while sending the Patriots a fourth rounder in this year’s draft.

Obviously, we all have questions now. With Gronkowski on board and the team already having two very capable tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, what happens to them?

The Bucs were publicly shopping Howard previously, so my guess is that he is dealt sooner rather than later. But, Tampa Bay could also choose to deal Brate instead, keeping Howard paired for what would be a ridiculously scary tandem at tight end.

What we do know (almost for certain) is this: The Bucs will make another deal involving a tight end before the season begins — much sooner than that, of course.

Another thing we know: The Bears have to replace veteran tight end Trey Burton, whom they just decided to part ways with. How could Ryan Pace and the Bears get involved? Let’s look at a few potential trade scenarios where Chicago lands its tight end.