3 bullish Calvin Ridley trades the Chicago Bears must explore
By Ryan Heckman
To say the Chicago Bears have to make a splash at wide receiver, this offseason, is an understatement.
After a year and a half of rumors, wondering who’s right and who’s wrong, it appears as though Allen Robinson is indeed going to end up in another uniform. The Bears’ mishandling of his contract situation is a thing of the past, and he appeared to move on far before the end of the 2021 season.
Chicago is amidst a retooling. From the top-down, the Bears are going through necessary changes. First-time general manager Ryan Poles and new head coach Matt Eberflus have assembled a brand-new staff. Now, it’s time to move on to the roster.
Wide receiver is a major position of need, once again, which is something Bears fans are used to from regimes in the past. With rumors swirling about the future of Calvin Ridley, could the Bears make a move to acquire the Pro Bowl wide receiver?
Trading for Calvin Ridley would be the major offseason splash Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles needs
Chicago’s wide receiver room is already full of pending free agents. In addition to Robinson, the Bears are looking at Damiere Byrd, Marquise Goodwin and Jakeem Grant set to enter the free-agent pool.
Out of those guys, Grant is the most likely to be brought back after enjoying an All-Pro season as the Bears’ primary return man.
However, that leaves Darnell Mooney, Dazz Newsome and Grant as the Bears’ only receivers. They’re going to have to add quite a few, but adding Ridley immediately bolsters the position and turns it into a strength.
What would it take to get Ridley, assuming he intends to return to football in 2022? If there’s a bidding war, the Bears might have to offer up one of these bullish trades to land the young star.