Insider Predicts The Chicago Bears Will Play It Cheap At The Trade Deadline

At 5-2, it feels almost like a foregone conclusion at this point that the Chicago Bears will be active at the trade deadline. They have a good team that is ready to compete. It feels like they just need one more push at a key position to prepare themselves for a dogfight in the NFC playoffs. The trade deadline arrives on November 10th this year. General manager Ryan Poles has never been afraid to make deals. It always comes down to who is available and what the team is looking for. Will the market yield a big swing, or will the Bears play it cheap?

Bill Barnwell of ESPN isn’t convinced Poles is prepared to go all in. While it would certainly create tons of excitement, the Bears aren’t really in a position to do that. Their cap space is limited, and they don’t have extra draft picks to spare. If they do make a move, it will likely be for a quality depth piece rather than a front-line starter. Barnwell believes the name to watch in that regard is veteran Anthony Nelson, currently with the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chicago Bears get: Edge Anthony Nelson, 2027 seventh-round pick.

Buccaneers get: 2027 sixth-round pick

Nelson represents reasonable depth behind Odeyingbo, Sweat and Austin Booker, who leads the Bears with four sacks. Nelson has been a rotational player for most of his time with Tampa Bay, but the signing of Al-Quadin Muhammad, the selection of Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of this year’s draft and the surprising emergence of second-year pro David Walker has kept Nelson off the field. The 29-year-old has played just 12 of 139 possible defensive snaps over the past two weeks for the 1-5 Bucs.

In addition, Nelson will make about $2.7 million over the rest of the season, which isn’t going to be very appealing to the Bucs if he’s taking most of his snaps on special teams. A competitive Bears team could integrate Nelson into the roster as the fourth edge rusher on game days.

The Chicago Bears would at least be getting a gritty player.

Nelson is your classic blue-collar NFL story. He arrived as a 4th-round pick in 2019 and has been a steady, dependable presence over the past 8 years. It hasn’t been through electric production. Nelson has never had more than 5.5 sacks in a season. That isn’t his game. He’s a power rusher who also serves as a solid run defender on the edge. At 6’7″ and 270 lbs, he certainly has the size and length that Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen prefers. Allen also knows Nelson from going against him for years when he was with the New Orleans Saints.

Is this the move Chicago Bears fans are hoping for? No. Not even close. Nelson is a decent player who can fill the role of a fourth edge defender perfectly well. The problem is that it won’t move the needle for this defense. It feels more like a move just to say you made a move. That is not good business practice. The entire point of the trade deadline is taking a swing to get better at the top, not on the margins. Nelson doesn’t offer anything the Bears don’t already have. He’d be just another body.

If the Bears won’t take a swing, it’s better to stand pat.

They have a good team that looks capable of competing in the playoffs. It’s not like they’re desperate for help. There is no rule that they have to make a move at the deadline. It is merely felt that one more piece could give them that decisive edge in a stretch of games that are always decided by razor-thin margins. Don’t forget the Bears are in the NFL’s toughest division. Every team has a winning record. Minnesota and Green Bay already beat them once. Some reinforcements might be needed for the rematches.

Poles hasn’t taken a big swing since 2023 when he got Montez Sweat from Washington for a 2nd round pick. Every trade made since then has been in the minor category, going for no more than a 4th round pick. Fans are giving him a green light to do it this time. Go for the home run. Settling for someone like Nelson won’t give this team any sort of added advantage.