Bears: A grade for Ryan Poles at the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline

The trade deadline has come and gone for the Chicago Bears and the rest of the NFL! There was some action although some folks might be disappointed with the moves made or lack thereof.

The NFL has the least packed trade deadline of the big four men’s pro sports leagues so this isn’t really all that surprising. There were some moves made, however, and the Chicago Bears were involved in one of the biggest ones.

The Bears acquired Montez Sweat from the Washington Commanders in exchange for a second-round pick. That is obviously a risky move but one the Bears felt they had to make. Sweat is in the middle of the final year of his deal so the Bears want to get him extended as soon as possible. There is a franchise tag option.

They are getting a former first-round pick in 2019 that is still very young. He creates disruption on the defensive line so the Chicago Bears could definitely use him but did they jump the gun too soon? Only time will tell on that.

The Chicago Bears made a couple of smart decisions on deadline day 2023.

In week 8, the Bears were blown out by the Los Angeles Chargers on national TV (NBC’s Sunday Night Football). Part of the issue was that they couldn’t get to quarterback Justin Herbert. He had a very clean day.

Now, the Bears are hoping that the addition of Sweat makes life harder on the opposing QBs that they go up against. They are at a quarterback disadvantage in just about every game they play so they might as well be able to create defensive pressure.

In addition to acquiring Sweat, they did not trade Jaylon Johnson. That is a win for them as they didn’t let a good young player go. This team needs to start keeping some of their talent in-house instead of shipping out.

Johnson reportedly wanted a trade out but now the Bears have him for the rest of this year. There is a chance that the two sides can now get a deal done for the long term. Having pieces like Jaylon Johnson and Montez Sweat to build around is certainly a good thing.

The only issue is Bears fans have a sour taste in their mouth about giving up a high-second rebound pick after the Chase Claypool debacle in 2022. This is different with Sweat who is an outstanding defensive lineman. The reasons that the Steelers gave up Claypool is entirely different than the reason the Commanders gave up Sweat.

Trade deadline grade: A-

Ryan Poles deserves his criticism. The team has not been good under his leadership and they lack direction. However, trade deadline day in 2023 was good for him. He added a stud defensive lineman in Montez Sweat and he didn’t cave with Jaylon Johnson.

Hopefully, this is the start of something good for the Bears who needed a spark. This is a franchise that has not been good for a long time and needs to start turning it around.