At NFL Trade Deadline Chicago Bears Should Be Sellers, Not Buyers

Aug 24, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Chicago Bears helmets during the second half against the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium. The Bears won the game 20-17 Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The knee jerk reaction to the injuries suffered by quarterback Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs is to get on the phone and make a trade, as if the Bears can simply trade away a third round pick for Dick Butkus in his prime and a fourth rounder for Joe Montana to hold down the fort until Jay Cutler returns in a few weeks.  It’s not happening people.  No one is giving up top end talent for mid-round draft picks.

In my humble opinion, the Bears are closer to a rebuilding project than a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  They have only 30 players under contract for 2014.  Sure, they’ll have a ton of cap space, but they’ll also need to add a TON of talent especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The Bears should be trying to stockpile draft picks, not trade them away.  That’s how you build your team on the cheap, to avoid spending $90 million on Julius Peppers 2.0, who will cost the Bears $6+ million next season to go away, else collect an $18 million payday.  That’s why the Bears brought in Phil Emery, a meticulous talent evaluator who’s racked up the frequent flyer miles pounding the college pavement.

With all that said, the Bears might have some pieces that Super Bowl contenders and pretenders alike might find appealing.  Let’s look at who might make sense to dangle for draft picks: