The Chicago Bears have undergone plenty of changes during this offseason. But in no area have the changes been more drastic than the offensive line.
The Bears needed to make their offensive line a priority after Caleb Williams was sacked an NFL-high 68 times last season. Chicago started by trading for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney to fill the guard spots while signing Drew Dalman in free agency to complete the interior.
Darnell Wright is currently slotted into the right tackle spot but the Bears still need someone on the other side to complete the overhaul. While selecting an offensive tackle in this weekend’s draft is an option, the Bears could have a trade target as a veteran is being pushed out by an NFC rival.
Trevor Penning Becomes Bears Trade Target After Saints Decline Fifth-Year Option
New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis announced on Wednesday that the team will not be picking up the fifth-year rookie contract option for offensive tackle Trevor Penning. Loomis told reporters that he still expects Penning to be part of the team going forward but his actions speak louder than words as Penning will now enter a contract year.
#Saints GM Mickey Loomis announced that they are picking up the fifth-year option on WR Chris Olave but declining it on OT Trevor Penning, who is now in the contract year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 23, 2025
Penning was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 draft but missed most of his rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury. The Northern Iowa product didn’t fare well at left tackle in his second season, allowing 19 pressures on 245 pass-blocking snaps in 2023. However, he showed improvement when moving to right tackle, allowing 54 pressures on 663 pass-blocking snaps according to Pro Football Focus last season.
This sets up an intriguing opportunity for the Bears. Chicago has discussed moving Wright to left tackle this offseason and general manager Ryan Poles sounded comfortable about the possibility when speaking at his pre-draft press conference this week.
“He clearly has the ability to play left and right [tackle],” Poles said. “We saw that in college. That was part of the value in taking Darnell, so if he had to play left, he can play left and I think we are all excited about his stuff to go right.”
If Penning comes aboard, Wright can slide to the left and Chicago can use its first round pick (10th overall) on something other than an offensive tackle. With the Bears reportedly working to trade up for Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, trading for Penning makes sense as opposed to taking a mid-to-late round flier on an offensive tackle.
It’s also worth nothing that Ben Johnson learned the value of a strong offensive line during his time as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions. With Penei Sewell, Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker leading the group, Detroit had one of the league’s best offenses in the entire NFL.
Making one more move to solidify the offensive line would make sense for the Bears this weekend and it may be worth calling Loomis to see if Penning is available.