The NFL’s 2023 trade deadline is fast approaching, and this year it falls on October 31, at 3:00 p.m. Central time. The Chicago Bears have already moved one player when they shipped Chase Claypool and a seventh-round pick off to the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-rounder, but with just one win, the roster may be in need of another shake-up.
With the Bears seemingly out of any postseason hunt already and facing another possible re-set of an offseason, we asked our team at WCG this question.
Should the Bears be sellers at the trade deadline, and if so, who should they move?
Here’s what we had to say.
Ken Mitchell: Sell! Sell! Sell! Sell EVERYBODY who is a veteran!!!
Two players I think there is at least some value that we could move are Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson (if he is healthy by then). Jackson isn’t worth the money for us as a rebuilding team, and Johnson can bring some value if we have no interest in re-upping him after this season. I would also throw Yannick Ngakoue in the mix, but I doubt any team would want him… after all, he was a free agent any of them could have had for just the money, and nobody but Chicago stepped up for him.
Bill Zimmerman: Under no circumstances should the Bears be buyers, they should absolutely be sellers. Their biggest issue is they don’t have much to sell where they can get any legitimate draft capital in return. Jaylon Johnson is certainly one that would fit, but beyond that, who else is there? Darnell Mooney’s production is quite low and wouldn’t get much in return. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t expect much activity at the trade deadline.
Sam Householder: There is no one on this team that needs to be kept. Jaylon Johnson and Eddie Jackson come to mind as players to move. This is going to be yet another hard reset, and all of the draft capital you can get would be helpful. The new regime should get to pick the pieces they want for their schemes and not be hamstrung to anything here now.
Mason West: Sell. Sell. Sell.
Now that doesn’t mean get rid of people willy-nilly, because the Bears should try to keep talent on the roster, but if that talent wants to get paid the top 10% of the market yet they are a top 25% player… then the Bears should get some trade compensation for said player.
Taylor Doll: I do not want to sell. We don’t have many veteran players to begin, the team has been stripped already, and the ones who would be worth it are the ones we just signed this offseason, so that’s a big “no, thank you” for me. Any successful team you see has a good combination of young talent and veteran players who have been able to stay and play together and although it doesn’t look like that winning is coming this year, as we carry on to this offseason with money and draft capital, I would like to hold on to the solid pieces we do have, for once. The only one I could possibly see fit is Jaylon Johnson but after injuries every season I am not sure what that capital would look like in losing our starting CB1.
Jack R Salo: This team is 1-5 and dead in the water, so yes, they should be sellers. It will be quicker to name the players who should not be considered in trade negotiations: DJ Moore, Darnell Wright. That’s it, that’s the list.
Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: Yeah, sell any pending free agents to be that are not in the long-term plans. I like Jaylon Johnson, but if you aren’t going to pay him, get a pick for him. Same with Mooney. While they’re at it, they may as well see what type of day three pick Justin Jones, Yannick Ngakoue, Robert Tonyan, or D’Onta Foreman could bring.
I see another re-set of the franchise coming, so I wonder if Team President Kevin Warren will even give Ran Poles the go-ahead to sell players off.
Josh Sunderbruch: No, they should not be sellers. This team has already been stripped down a little too far, and at this point, selling more pieces just draws the process out. The pieces they have (like Jaylon Johnson) are more valuable to them moving forward than they would be for whatever draft capital they could get back. However, they should absolutely be in the buying market if help on the defensive line becomes available. If another struggling team needs to shed cap, Poles needs to swoop in and pick up even a replacement-level pass rusher
