Our Trade Pitch Sees Bears Make Godfather Offer for Projected $135M Pass Rusher
The Chicago Bears won’t be able to spend their oodles of salary cap space on offensive guard Trey Smith after the Kansas City Chiefs slapped the franchise tag on him last week, so the bulk of the money will now probably to go toward the defensive line.
The two best edge rushers likely to come available in free agency are Khalil Mack and Josh Sweat. But the Bears and Mack already had one go around, and he will play next season at 34 years old, which makes a reunion unlikely. Sweat is in his late 20s and has a solid track record of pressuring opposing QBs, but he’s recorded double-digit sacks just once in his career and is looking for a monster contract this offseason.
Adding an elite pass rusher is probably the Bears’ No. 2 priority behind bulking up the interior of the offensive line in front of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. And if value is the goal and money isn’t particularly an object, then big-time trade offers for two players make sense: Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett has already asked for a trade out of Cleveland and quickly shut down talk of any extension this offseason with two years remaining on his deal. Parsons is heading into his fifth NFL season, which pays him $24 million on a team option that Dallas picked up ahead of the 2023 campaign.
The question is whether the Cowboys are willing to extend Parsons long-term, particularly after breaking the bank on quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb last offseason. Spotrac estimates Parsons’ market value at nearly $135 million over a new-four year contract, which may be unfeasible — or at least unpalatable — for Dallas.
