The Chicago Bears got a bit of disappointed criticism on Tuesday. Many fans had hoped GM Ryan Pace might try to make one more aggressive move at the NFL trade deadline. Maybe secure help in the secondary or the pass rush in order to make that push to the playoffs. In the end, it didn’t happen. The Bears were silent.
It’s not hard to understand why. They didn’t have much wiggle room or ammunition to make a significant move anyway. They have less than $5 million in cap space this year and only five draft picks in 2019. That’s not much to work with. Pace no doubt felt good about where the team is at and wanted to preserve his remaining assets.
However, that doesn’t mean the fortunes of Chicago didn’t improve at the deadline. It wasn’t them but instead their main competition who were active. No fewer than three notable names left the NFC North for teams elsewhere, and they’re all names that have haunted the Bears in years past.
Chicago Bears fortunes brighten due to puzzling moves in Green Bay and Detroit
Lions trade Golden Tate to Philadelphia
Since 2014, the Bears have beaten the Detroit Lions just one time. That happens to coincide with the same year that they signed wide receiver Golden Tate. Since then he became a frequent thorn in the Bears’ sides, posting at least three catches per game. Several of which were meaningful either for first downs or touchdowns.
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It’s not a coincidence that the one win Chicago had over them was the lone game Tate had just one catch. He was having a good season to this point too, posting over 500 yards in just seven games. The Lions will be asking their receiving corps to fill a fairly big void with him gone, something that might not be as easy as they think.
Packers trade Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington and Ty Montgomery to Baltimore
Even more puzzling were the two moves made by the Packers. We’ll start with Montgomery. Trading the running back wasn’t a huge surprise after his gigantic snafu in Los Angeles that cost Green Bay a big win over the Rams. It was apparent he was growing more and more frustrated with the lack of playing time there and things finally reached a breaking point.
The thing is they also unloaded a notorious Bears killer. Montgomery saved some of his best performances for Chicago. In just six meetings, he had 311 yards rushing (8.18 per carry), and 102 yards receiving with three touchdowns.
Then there’s Clinton-Dix. His situation is even more baffling. Here’s a safety who went to the Pro Bowl in 2016. He has 12 interceptions dating back to the start of that season and has been a leader for their secondary since he was drafted. Yet changes to the defensive coaching staff and an upcoming contract situation compelled Green Bay to ship him to Washington.
Did he enjoy playing the Bears? Well, he had more interceptions against them (3) than any other team he’s played. So that’s another headache gone. It’s difficult to see how any of the moves made by these teams made them better. If anything it is the opposite. They look considerably worse than they did 24 hours ago.
That’s nothing but good news for Chicago.
