After what happened in Detroit, the Chicago Bears were clear sellers for the upcoming trade deadline. They’d have to sell off any veterans with hefty contracts they could. In the space of a month, things have changed. Chicago has won four in a row. Their position in the NFC has improved enough that they look like playoff contenders. Does this change the perspective of the trade deadline for GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson? Insiders haven’t offered much intel on that front. The Bears are rarely mentioned as possible buyers.

Thankfully, Jeff Hughes of Sports Mockery provided an update on what is happening. Based on what he’s heard, the silence has nothing to do with a lack of interest. Chicago would love to make an aggressive move. The problem is an all-too-common one.

Wanting to make a move is only part of the equation in trades. The Bears also need a team that is open to selling. They must have a player the Bears like, and most importantly, the price tag to get him can’t be outrageous. It sounds like that last part is the problem.

The Chicago Bears aren’t going to overpay.

Poles seems to have learned his lesson from a few years ago. He famously flipped a 2nd round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool. That was a disaster. He did next to nothing for the Chicago Bears, was traded away after one year, and is no longer in the league. That fiasco seems to have taught Poles to be more careful about who they pursue and how much they’re willing to pay.

There is no question the Bears need help. Outside of Montez Sweat, edge rusher remains a problem, and cornerback is also becoming a concern as injuries mount. There are names out there who could be helpful, like Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Jermaine Johnson, and Tariq Woolen. However, it sounds like the asking prices for all of them are too high. Either that or those respective teams are reluctant to sell.

Until that changes, the Bears won’t take a swing. Perhaps there will be a shift once the November 4th deadline gets closer.

Nothing is more important on a football team than the relationship between a head coach and quarterback. If it’s harmonious, it can lead to great success. Jim McMahon and Mike Ditka weren’t always civil, but they were usually on the same page. Conversely, Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky became divided after their first season together and it ruined a good thing the Chicago Bears had. When they hired Ben Johnson in January, it was hoped he would be able to unlock the full potential of Caleb Williams.

Things seem to be going well. Williams has a 3-to-1 touchdown-interception ratio (9 to 3) and a 92.1 passer rating. He also has two 4th quarter comebacks. That stat line would be great for most coaches, but is it for Johnson. The coach admitted he’d hoped there’d be more progress from Williams efficiency-wise by this point. His completion percentage (61.1%) is far lower than the desired range and his accuracy is still a problem. Tyler Dunne of Go Long made it seem as if Johnson has not made any long-term commitments to the quarterback.

The very next split-second, the conversation shifted to the union of Head Coach and Quarterback. Could Johnson resurrect 2024 first overall pick Caleb Williams? No relationship in sports is more valuable. Time will tell if Williams is Johnson’s guy at the position. That vetting process is ongoing. Chicago’s four-game winning streak, however, is full proof that this coach was always more than a mad scientist…

…There will be no contorting, no twisting the plan of attack. Rather, Williams must keep pace with Johnson.

Ben Johnson isn’t the type of person to make snap decisions.

He evaluates everything, always doing the research. None of his decisions are made without all of the information. It is why he’s such an excellent offensive coach. There is no way he has reached any sort of conclusion on Williams after six games. He will let the entire season play out, wanting to see how the young quarterback progresses in the system. Ben Johnson has praised his work ethic and dedication at every turn. There have been genuine signs of progress. The trick is finding consistency.

It usually takes at least half of a season before a quarterback finds a serious groove in an offense. Williams hasn’t had any truly terrible game. Sunday against the Saints was the closest he came and the Bears still won. The best thing to do is wait until at least the end of November. By then, the team should have a better idea of where Williams’ progress is. If he is still making the same mistakes, only then can a conversation begin.

Kyle Monangai didn’t register much to Chicago Bears fans when the team drafted him. That comes with the territory of going in the 7th round. All they could tell from researching him was he had two highly-productive seasons at Rutgers. Beyond that, experts claimed he was average in most categories from size to speed and athleticism. Most of his best traits came from vision, contact balance, and intelligence. This wasn’t the running back move people had hoped for. It felt like a consolation prize.

Through the first five games, there wasn’t much to report. Monangai appeared sporadically in games, making the most of limited opportunities. It was pretty much the D’Andre Swift show. That changed on Sunday against New Orleans. He received 13 carries, his highest of the season, and gouged the Saints for 81 yards. All of his strengths stood out. It felt like a true breakout moment for him. When asked how it came about, Monangai credited some advice from running backs coach Eric Bieniemy.

“You’ll hear E.B. say all the time, ‘Find four and a half‘ (yards per carry). He’s not too concerned with everything number-wise or big picture. He just says whatever play we’re on is the most important, and if the ball’s in your hand, you’ve got to find four and a half.”

Kyle Monangai is proving to be a good listener.

So far this season, he is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 10.2 yards per reception. Bieniemy’s instructions have helped shape how Kyle Monangai approaches the game. The best way for an offense to have success is consistently hitting on plays of four or five yards. That guarantees every third play results in a first down. If you do that, you’ll inevitably score. From watching how Monangai runs, it’s evident he takes that instruction seriously. The guy is difficult to bring down.

It is clear the Bears are learning to trust him. That was always the key to seeing more work. Those previous five weeks were a feeling-out period. Ben Johnson wanted to see if Monangai could handle his assignments without mistakes. He passed that test. Sunday was his SAT exam, and he crushed it.

The Chicago Bears looked exactly like the team that had finished last season: good in spurts but always folding under pressure. They coughed up a 17-6 lead in the 4th quarter to Minnesota, then were pounded into submission by Detroit the next week. This team was dead in the water. However, head coach Ben Johnson refused to let that happen. He got his players together and delivered a message that seemed to resonate in advance of the pivotal week three matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Albert Breer of the MMQB heard about it from running back D’Andre Swift. The words were simple and straightforward. If nothing else, the Bears were going to operate as the more physical football team moving forward. Everything they did was geared around fulfilling that mission.

“He told us the brand of football we wanted to play,” tailback D’Andre Swift told me. “That’s a physical unit that does everything—the run, pass, play-action. Whatever that particular game day requires us to do to come out with the win, we’ll execute that. Situations, weather, can dictate play calls and things like that, but we want to be very balanced in everything to do as far as our identity. And we’ve picked up the run game the last couple weeks.”

Starting with Dallas, it felt like the Bears took their cue from the head coach and played with more urgency and violence. They dictated the tempo, forcing opponents into mistakes. Four wins later, the season has transformed.

Ben Johnson has already succeeded where Matt Eberflus failed.

Establishing an identity is so crucial for a team. It is something every head coach must ask themselves. Who do we want to be? Eberflus never seemed to understand that. He gave vague answers about the type of team he wanted, content to throw things at the wall until something stuck. Ben Johnson has known from the beginning what he wants. The Bears would be a strong rushing team built through physicality and violence. Old school? Sure, but history shows this is never a bad thing to want. The more physical teams tend to have more success in big games.

Chicago understood that at one point in time. They lost it somewhere in the past decade. Not anymore. Johnson has given them a direction, and players are forging ahead. They’re embracing the vision, and it’s working. The Bears went from contender for the #1 pick to squarely in the playoff picture in just over a month. That doesn’t happen without strong leadership.

The Chicago Bears knew who they wanted early in the 2nd round of the 2025 draf. No, it wasn’t Luther Burden. Every indication was that GM Ryan Poles was trying to find a way to move up and select Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson of Ohio State. It looked like they had a deal with Miami at one point, but it fell through. In the end, Henderson went one pick ahead of them at 38th overall to the New England Patriots. Chicago opted for Burden instead. That appears to be the end of it.

However, something strange is going on in New England. Even as the Patriots are winning again, Henderson has been invisible. His snap count went from 78 the first three games to 76 in the past four. He almost didn’t see the field at all against Tennessee this past. Some have wondered if the Patriots coaching staff has soured on him. Yahoo insider Charles Robinson is one of them. He even went so far as to float the idea that Henderson could be available via trade if teams make the call.

The Chicago Bears have every reason to at least explore the idea.

Granted, they no longer seem hard-pressed for help at running back with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. However, Henderson is such a unique talent that you have to consider it anyway. He would be a perfect fit in Ben Johnson’s offense, which is why the Chicago Bears wanted him in the first place. He’s explosive, athletic, and versatile. It has been puzzling to watch how the Patriots have used him.

Teams have quickly abandoned draft picks before, but almost never somebody taken so high. Conventional wisdom says New England will hang onto Henderson in hopes things will come around. Still, it feels like a slight opening is there for a team make a call. Given how much the Bears wanted the young running back in the first place, it makes plenty of sense for them to do so.

The Chicago Bears picked up their fourth straight win on Sunday — their longest streak since 2018. Now sitting at 4-2, there are some real similarities between this team and that 2018 group. The defense once again leads the NFL in takeaways and is playing at an elite level. Montez Sweat had his best game of the season against the Saints, and things are really starting to click on that side of the ball.

Offensively, it’s been a different story. The passing game continues to struggle, but the run game has come alive since the bye week. D’Andre Swift has piled up 313 total yards and two touchdowns over the last two games, while rookie Kyle Monangai added his first career touchdown and more than 80 total yards in Sunday’s win.

Now, the Bears face a difficult decision. At 4-2, they’re right in the playoff mix — whether through a Wild Card spot or even the NFC North title. But with Caleb Williams still showing inconsistency, should the Bears really risk giving up valuable assets to make a win-now trade? Or does it even matter?

This might be the moment for Ryan Poles to be aggressive. The team is playing well, Williams is still on his rookie deal, and this kind of window doesn’t stay open for long. If the Bears believe they can contend, now might be the time to strike — especially with the trade deadline quickly approaching.