On March 4, the Chicago Bears traded for former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson with the Rams. It was a quiet trade, and we only heard about it after the fact. A day later, the Bears traded for three-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro, and four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Thuney with the Chiefs. By the way, he was second team All-Pro in 2019 and 2022. Again, not a lot of suspense, they kind of just announced that it happened.
We know the Bears are not finished with upgrading this roster, and definitely not finished with the offensive line renovation. Not with trades, not with free agency, not with the draft. Will they make some loud noise with their next acquisition?
We heard that Tyler Lockett is available this week. We heard that DK Metcalf wants a trade. Interestingly, the Bears could use a third wide receiver, like the role Keenan Allen played last year (though DK Metcalf is a much bigger upgrade than that).
But Trey Hendrickson wants a trade?! In the year the Bears need to upgrade their defensive line. In the year that the Bears have the third most cap space. Are you kidding me? That sounds loud.
Trey Hendrickson has over 10 sacks in three of the last four seasons. In 2024, he was the NFL's sack leader (17.5), an All-Pro, and a Pro-Bowler. He had 17.5 sacks in 2023 as well. It took a 2026 fourth-round pick to get Thuney and a 2025 sixth-round pick to get Jackson. Hendrickson won't be so cheap. But imagine him partnered up with Devonte Sweat. Absolute chaos.
Assuming that the Bears would rather have Hendrickson than Philadelphia's Josh Sweat (
No. 5 on Gregg Rosenthal's top 101 NFL free agents list) or Philadelphia's Milton Williams (No. 1), who are free agents in a week, what would it take to get Hendrickson?
The Bears have no extra superstars to giveaway, so draft picks are the only vehicle available. It is unlikely that the Bengals would want a 2026 pick, because, let's face it, the Bears are going to the playoffs next year and will have a low first-round pick. Would the Bears give the 10th overall pick for Hendrickson?
If they did, they would need to grab more high quality talent in free agency. This would be tackle Ronnie Stanley from Baltimore (No. 2), Atlanta center Drew Dalman (No. 12), and Indianapolis guard Will Fries. The free agency pool at offensive line gets a little thin after that (including Tevon Jenkins from Chicago, No. 28).
The Bears still have the overall 39th and 41st picks, where they can still draft extremely solid offensive linemen, wide receivers, or defensive linemen.
The alternative would be to give away both second-round picks for Trey Hendrickson. This would still allow the Bears to draft Armand Membou, Will Campbell or Kelvin Banks at 10. It leaves the Bears with a third, fourth, and fifth-round pick, but it will be a thin draft except for that first-rounder.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles doesn't have an easy decision. Free agency is deep at edge rusher(including Khalil Mack), and so is the draft. Hendrickson isn't the only game in town, by far, but it is a fantastic opportunity. Jackson will be due $17.5 million in 2025, and Thuney is owed $16 million (final year of his contract & he could be more expensive in 2026). These trades still leave the Bears with $51 million in cap space for new deals.
The Bears ended their reputation with bargain hunting, trading for middling players, and signing players post-prime when they paid DJ Moore, grabbed Ben Johnson, and traded for Thuney. That needs to continue. Chicago just watched the Cubs cheap out on Alex Bregman and Roki Sasaki.
Time to keep the big boy pants on.