Nobody would blink an eye if Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles sat in his chair, lit a cigar, and called it a season. His acquisition of star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans is already looking like a masterstroke. That is a checkmate move when it comes to the trade deadline. Why keep playing? Namely because Poles understands that there is no such thing as giving your team too much help. It is his job to do everything in his power to make the Bears better.
Still, there have to be limits to this, right? There is no way Poles would follow up such a haymaker as Simmons with a second one. Except that might be exactly what he’s contemplated. After the Whistle Sports is a Twitter (X) handle that drew intrigue when it correctly reported that Chicago was inquiring about Simmons on October 28th. Just 24 hours later, the trade went down.
This made the most recent post all the more intriguing. Based on new information, the Bears are sniffing around New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young.
This would be a heat-check move for Ryan Poles.
Interest in somebody like Young is easy to understand. The former #2 overall pick has overcome early career injuries and is playing his best football at age 27. He has 7 sacks in 7 games and had 10 sacks in 12 games last season. The guy finally looks like the superstar he was at Ohio State. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done much to help the Saints. They sit at 2-5 with losses in four of their last five games. If they lose coming out of the bye week against Cleveland on November 8th, that could trigger a decision to start selling off assets.
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Young, given his age and contract, would be one of the top targets. He has two years left on his 3-year, $51 million deal. That would give the acquiring team some reasonable long-term control. Ryan Poles tends to prefer players like that. On the younger side, with a chance to build for multiple years. Young would be a tremendous get, health permitting. A line with him, Simmons, Sweat, and Booker would be quite the force. As always, it comes down to the price tag.
Young will probably cost at least a 2nd round pick.
His age, productivity, and contract mean the Saints have considerable leverage in talks. They don’t feel any need to trade him. That means if the Bears or other teams want him, they’ll have to come in with aggressive offers. Poles already surrendered two 1st round picks for Simmons. Would he give away even more high selections for Young? That feels unlikely. The only possible alternative would be to include a player from the Bears’ side who New Orleans might be interested in.
Right now, there isn’t anybody the Bears have that they’d be willing to part with. Rome Odunze is playing well and is a key part of the passing attack. Cole Kmet is injured. Jaylon Johnson has regressed considerably at cornerback. The truth is Chicago doesn’t have the resources to make this digestible for fans already nervous about what it cost to get Simmons. Then again, if Poles believes that strongly about this team, he might as well go for broke.
