NEWSLETTER
One of the best things to come out of the Bears’ Week 1 win over the 49ers is how it paused some of the trade whispers on the periphery of Chicago football.
Robert Quinn is going where? Roquan Smith would be best suited to play with which team? Teven Jenkins could use a change of scenery with what squad?
The hypotheticals, while fun to engage with from time to time, get tiring at some point. So it was nice, if even for a moment, to kick that can down the road and put it out of sight and out of mind.
Unfortunately, losing to the Packers in primetime has re-fueled some of those conversations.
For instance, Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report) created a NFL trade block big board. The idea behind this exercise is simple enough. Firstly, identify which teams around the league could be ideal fits for players who make sense as trade targets. Secondly, identify the best players most likely to be going elsewhere before the league’s Nov. 1 trade deadline. And in this piece, Bears pass-rusher Robert Quinn tops the list because of course he does.
Quinn’s name has been on the trade rumor mill since the Bears’ kick-started their teardown/rebuild process by trading Khalil Mack. And while the Bears might not have been actively shopping Quinn, there has been considerable buzz suggesting interested teams are watching.
With that in mind, I suppose it is worth sharing that Knox sees the Browns and Raiders are best fits (if Quinn can be had in trade). The Bears have been open about not publicly shopping Quinn, but I wonder if there is a Godfather deal so overwhelmingly good that GM Ryan Poles couldn’t turn it down. And for what it’s worth, a Quinn deal could open up playing time for Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson, who have been the team’s best pass-rushers behind Quinn — all while leap-frogging free agent addition Al-Quadin Muhammad in the early going.
The thing about trade season is that there are always surprise moves that pop up seemingly out of nowhere. And as Knox strikes again with another post suggesting six trades that should happen, he offers up one that I think the Bears would run to make if this Bears-Bengals hypothetical presented itself:
Leaving the rebuilding Bears for the upstart Bengals might be kin to a prison break to some. And for Chicago, a deal like this might be a straight-up steal. Schofield was set to start after signing, but the Bears cut him while trimming the roster to 53. He re-joined the team in September when Alex Leatherwood went on the Non-Football Injury list. It is possible Schofield is just a momentary placeholder — albeit, one with extensive starting experience and versatility. And with that in mind, the Bears should be ready to pounce on a deal if any team comes calling. Especially if it is offering notable draft pick compensation for a reserve on a one-year deal.
All that to say this: We’re way too early in the season to be too deep in trade chatter. But that deadline comes up quickly, so it doesn’t hurt exploring the market ahead of its opening. The NFL’s trade deadline is 40 days away. And the Bears have six games to play before reaching deadline day. What this team looks like by then is unknown. Then again, what it’ll look like afterward is that, too.
