The Chicago Bears are surrounded by a litany of trade rumors right now. It feels like anything can happen at any moment. Fans got a taste of that on Wednesday when David Montgomery lit off a bit of a firestorm on Twitter. He declared playing in Chicago has been fun and he met some great people. The total randomness of that statement was puzzling at first and it’s hard not to read into it a little deeper.

Now the initial hope is Montgomery just used improper wording on the tweet. He wanted to thank Chicago for another fun year and he’s ready to go after again. However, anybody who understands the offseason knows that nobody is safe. Anybody can be traded at any given time. With the Bears in a frantic hunt to find a franchise quarterback, they’ve been connected to trade rumors for weeks.

Could they be using Montgomery to further that goal?

Now in terms of actual value? Montgomery has plenty. He’s entering the third year of his rookie contract, so he’s cheap. He is only 23-years old and is coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season. For a running back, this is typically when their value is peaking. So it wouldn’t be a huge shock that the Bears might be receiving interest for him.

The question is from who? Recently they’ve been connected to the ongoing Carson Wentz trade talks. Could they be using Montgomery as added bait to interest the Philadelphia Eagles? That seems somewhat unusual. After all, they already have Miles Sanders who had 867 yards in 12 games last season and was drafted the same year as Montgomery. They don’t have a major need at running back.

Then again with the prospect of losing their quarterback and reconfiguring the offense around Jalen Hurts, the idea of loading the backfield with good runners would at least make some sense. Or it could be another team that is involved altogether.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v8_lL4YHm8&ab_channel=ChicagoBears

David Montgomery would be an unfortunate loss

He has developed into a quality football player for the Bears. One of those energizer bunny types. He never seems to run out of juice. His relentless running style and toughness remind people a lot of Walter Payton. Just an easy guy to like and somebody the team really didn’t start to get the most out of until late this past season. Montgomery is a genuine workhorse who can wear defenses out and is more versatile than he gets credit for.

*****************************UPDATE************************************

Mercifully it appears to have been a false alarm. A short time after the tweet went viral, both Ian Rapoport and David Montgomery himself eased fan fears by declaring it was totally misunderstood. It was merely a statement from him about his love for playing in Chicago. There was no trade and he fully intends to play for the Bears next season and hopefully beyond.

I believe the #Bears RB is just happy to be playing in Chicago… because he didn’t get traded. https://t.co/fZLndZzS6n

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 10, 2021

Y’all took that completely wrong! It was not intended in the purpose of football! HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BALL! I love Chicago and I’m ready to be here for a long time and win a lot of games 🤦🏾‍♂️‼️

— David Montgomery (@MontgomerDavid) February 10, 2021

This should serve as a reminder of how on-edge Bears fans are.

They know something could drop at any moment and no player on the roster could be safe. Not when the possibility of an upgrade at quarterback is at stake. Already Tarik Cohen and Roquan Smith have been connected to trade speculation. It isn’t crazy to think Montgomery could fall into that category as well.