Generally an NFL team arrives at the trade deadline as one of two types. They are either a buyer or a seller. It’s truth of all sports. Either a team is losing and unlikely to make a rally. So they ship out a valuable player that might get them some draft revenue for next year. Or it’s a team that feels they’re in the hunt for the playoffs. One more player at a key position could be the ticket. It’s hard to say where the Chicago Bears trades situation is at.
They started out 2017 with a 1-3 record. Most left them for dead. Now they’ve won two-straight against Baltimore and Carolina. Both teams had winning records at the time. Suddenly the Bears are going into New Orleans with a chance to be .500 at the midseason point for the first time since 2013.
This leads to the question. If they manage to beat the Saints, will GM Ryan Pace feel aggressive enough to give his team an added boost in hopes of making a playoff push? It’s hard to say but the man is unpredictable. He’s not a afraid to be bold. So with that in mind here are some names to watch carefully as Halloween approaches.
Chicago Bears trades are all about the wide receivers
Let’s be real. The only position that is so bad it needs a midseason trade to help it is the wide receivers. Currently Mitch Trubisky is throwing a discarded former first round pick in Kendall Wright who hasn’t topped 500 yards since 2014. The other two, Tanner Gentry and Tre McBride, have four combined starts of experience. In retrospect how can anybody think Trubisky should be a focal point of the offense.
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Sure he has good tight ends and the coaches can do a better job scheming guys open, but that doesn’t make up for a general lack of talent.
Terrelle Pryor
Monday night showed again that the Washington Redskins just don’t have a meaningful role for Terrelle Pryor in their offense. That’s surprising given he’s 6’4″ and had over 1,000 yards last season. For the Cleveland *bleeping* Browns no less. He’s on a one-year deal and continues to get phased out of the offense. If the Redskins aren’t interested, then this could be a dirt cheap purchase for Pace with huge upside.
T.Y. Hilton
The Indianapolis Colts are approaching a potential death spiral that could lead to them throwing the rest of 2017. Andrew Luck remains sidelined and GM Chris Ballard knows he has a ton of work left to do in rebuilding a depleted roster. This may demand a difficult sacrifice. T.Y. Hilton certainly merits a mention. He wasn’t drafted by Ballard and carries a hefty contract. He’s already over 500 yards this year and turns 28 in November. The vertical ability he’d bring is hard to ignore.
Martavis Bryant
Certainly the name that has garnered the most attention. Martavis Bryant is unhappy in Pittsburgh where the Steelers seem to have marginalized his role. This after going over 700 yards in just 11 games in 2015. The speedy 6’4″ receiver wants more opportunities and the team isn’t giving it to him, so he’s asking for a trade. Thus far the Steelers have denied do that. Bryant is a big play threat but he’s also inconsistent, on and off the field. Definitely a high-risk, high-reward proposition.
Demaryius Thomas
This one might catch a lot of people by surprise, but it shouldn’t. Plenty of sources out of Denver feel the Broncos might be in selling mode given the direction the team has gone of late. Bottoming out against the Chargers has led to belief it might be time for a changing of the guard. That includes moving on from star receiver Demaryius Thomas. He has a prior history with John Fox and is still fairly productive at age 30. He’d at least give the Bears more credibility.
