Anybody who thinks it’s a secret by now has clearly lost touch with reality. The Chicago Bears wide receiver position is a mess. It’s like city right after an earthquaker or a carpet bombing. Still standing but utterly devastated. Since March the Bears have lost their three most productive targets at the position. Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal left via free agency. Cameron Meredith suffered a terrible knee injury.
On top of that Kevin White just had surgery to repair a fractured scapula. Markus Wheaton hasn’t returned from a broken finger. Even Kendall Wright left the Tampa game yesterday with an injury. That is a string of losses that goes beyond catastrophic straight to actually a little bit impressive. Bad luck like that is rare.
Nonetheless it’s obvious GM Ryan Pace has a real challenge on his hands. After Mike Glennon melted under that hot Florida sun, it’s clearer than ever that Mitch Trubisky is coming. He’s coming soon.
Bears wide receiver position may get jump-started by bold trade?
This puts Pace is a difficult position. No GM wants his prized QB draft pick to debut with scrubs at wide receiver. Sure maybe guys like Tanner Gentry and Tre McBride can turn into something but can anybody bank on that? If Wright and Wheaton miss next week, the starting wide outs for Chicago will be Gentry, Josh Bellamy and Deonte Thompson. All are former undrafted free agents. Not a high draft choice in sight.
With Jordan Howard nursing a shoulder injury, the Bears can’t rely on the run game either. Thus Pace, a man who saves his bold moves for the draft, may have to get a head start this year. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was asking scouts around the league about wide receivers in the 2018 college class. While most declared it’s too early to tell, one hinted that something else could happen soon.
“We’re going to get 80 to 90 juniors, maybe more. That’s the reality of it now. I haven’t got into the finished product yet. You’re calling me too early. The Bears? They’ve got guys hurt and they’re not good enough at wideout to start with. They’re pigeonholing themselves for the draft if they don’t trade for someone now or pick up a big-time free agent. My bet is they sign a free agent, maybe a big name, and draft one.”
The trade buzz has gone up and down for the past month. It’s not clear how close the Bears came to making any sort of move. There was buzz about them being interested in Allen Hurns but that was never corroborated by multiple sources. Nevertheless it’s more obvious than ever this is the only way short of waiting until next March that they get better at such a depleted position.
A move depends on who’s available and what the cost is
Something to remember here. Chicago has seven picks in the 2018 draft including no third rounder and two fourth rounders. Given the state of the roster at present, giving away any picks may not sound prudent. However, if the talent and price get to the right levels a trade can often be a huge benefit even at such a cost.
Of course the question then becomes is there anybody out there worth monitoring? It’s still early in the season, but often the best thing to do is watch other teams that aren’t doing well. They tend to be the ones most willing to sell by the trade deadline. A few names to watch include:
- Donte Moncrief (Indianapolis Colts)
- Dontrelle Inman (Los Angeles Chargers)
- Brandon Coleman (New Orleans Saints)
None of those names may stand out as stars but each brings some solid talent to the table. Definitely something to work with for Trubisky moving forward. That’s the best the Bears can hope for at this point.
