The Chicago Bears need to find creative ways to get this franchise back into the playoffs and competing for a Super Bowl. Well, the Carolina Panthers might have opened a door to that.
During the Panthers' first day of training camp, they saw one of their top defenders, edge rusher Nic Scourton, go down with an ACL injury and is expected to miss all of the 2026 season. Scourton is seeking a second opinion before deciding on when or if to have surgery.
This has left open an interesting opportunity for the Bears to make a bold move to help the Panthers out. It could also benefit Chicago in ways they never imagined.
Bears could make a massive move to help themselves and Panthers out
Bears' general manager, Ryan Poles, could call the Panthers and offer them a trade. The trade would involve moving edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo off the team in exchange for a Day 3 draft pick.
Yes, this would hurt the Bears' edge rusher room for the time being. Odeyingbo is expected to compete with Austin Booker for the starting edge rusher job opposite Montez Sweat. Booker showed last year, with his 4.5 sacks in 10 games, that he could start full-time given his skills.
Odeyingbo, on the other hand, had a tough 2025 season with just one sack in eight games before a season-ending injury occurred for him. The Bears gave him $51 million last offseason for a subpar performance, so it may be time to move on.
So, how does a potential Odeyingbo trade benefit the Bears? Well, Chicago would save $16 million against the cap in 2026. That should be enough money to make a bold move.
The Bears could look in free agency to add a couple of solid edge rushers to help out. It could also motivate Poles to call the Las Vegas Raiders and strike a deal for star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, finally giving the Bears the elite pass rusher they have desperately needed with Sweat.
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The likelihood of a trade like this happening before the 2026 season is slim, as Poles has proven not to be very interested in bringing in new talent via trade. Making a move like this, though, would be the push fans would need to truly believe this Bears team could compete for a Super Bowl title in 2026.
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