The Chicago Bears never seemed eager to pay Gervon Dexter. Otherwise, they would've never even considered moving arguably their best defensive player, let alone for the seemingly underwhelming return they got.
The Bears received cornerback Clark Phillips III and a 2027 fifth-round pick for their star defensive tackle. It was, essentially, a way to dump his salary, end the contractual drama, and move on to the next one.
Thus far, Dexter's strong start to the season might make some Bears fans feel like they made a mistake. However, with the way Dennis Allen's unit has performed in his absence, they may not have needed him as much as initially thought.
The Chicago Bears are doing just fine without Gervon Dexter
Dexter is, undeniably, a star. That said, the Bears' defense currently ranks 10th in EPA/play (-0-04), seventh in points per game allowed (17.7), second in third-down conversions allowed (29.0 percent), and ninth in sack percentage (7.7 percent).
The former Bears star, on the other hand, is also enjoying a breakout season with Kevin Stefanski's team. According to Pro Football Focus, he's leading all defensive tackles with a 23.3 percent pass rush win rate.
That said, not only may that not be sustainable, but the Bears were never going to give him the big deal he got in Atlanta. The Falcons just signed him to a four-year, $46.5 million contract extension, much more than he would've gotten in Chicago.
Sometimes, things just don't work out between a player and the team, and that's perfectly fine. Just because they're doing better elsewhere doesn't necessarily mean they'd do as well had they stayed in their previous situation.
The Bears' defense has fared much better than expected this season. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and while this doesn't mean that Dexter was holding them back by any measure, maybe this new-look unit just does better together.
This team is finally getting its money's worth with Grady Jarrett, and rookie Jordan van den Berg looks like the future at left tackle. They didn't have as much financial wiggle room to keep Jarrett with the deal he wanted and still make the moves they'll need to make in the future.
Only time will tell how this move will pan out, but for now, it just looks like the Falcons jumped the gun after a couple of good games, Dexter got the money he was looking for, and the Bears saved themselves a headache.
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