Chicago Bears made the right move by not making a trade

The Chicago Bears did nothing at the trade deadline.

The NFL trade deadline came and went and the Chicago Bears failed to make a move. While many fans will bemoan the lack of action from general manager Ryan Pace, it was unquestionably the right move.

Currently, the Bears sit at 5-3 having lost their last two games and about to face a very strong Tennessee Titans team with a highly depleted offensive line.

Actually, highly depleted may even be an understatement. In fact, their offensive line is like a M.A.S.H. unit. After losing James Daniels for the season, they are now without Cody Whitehair, Bobby Massie, Jason Spriggs, and Sam Mustipher who will all miss this Sunday’s game. They may also be without Germain Ifedi.

Naturally, many fans were looking for the team to make a move to shore up that offensive line to give the team a chance to make the playoffs.

However, Pace actually made the correct move by making no move at all.

Although they desperately need help on the offensive line, their need far outweighs their resources. Said another way, the Bears are not one or two offensive linemen away from being serious contenders in the NFC. The reality is this offensive line needs a major overhaul. Anyone who would have been available at the trade deadline was unlikely to move the needle enough to markedly improve the offensive line’s production.

Perhaps they could have made a run at Joe Thuney, but he is a free agent at the end of the season, and unless they could have locked him up long term, it did not make sense to mortgage much needed future assets for a half-year rental — especially when this team has major problems that won’t be solved with one offensive linemen. As for Zach Fulton, he was likely the more attractive option, but it appears the Houston Texans were asking for the moon with respect to all of their players made available for trade.

We have no way of knowing why, specifically, Pace did not make a move. But if he was honest with himself and his assessment of the team, he realized making a move or two at the deadline was not going to make the difference necessary to compete for a Super Bowl. So it simply did not make sense for a team that is salary-cap strapped and is just getting it’s first-round pick back, to sell more future assets. It appears Pace has, for the first time in a while, made the right move.