ESPN's proposed Bears trade would dramatically impact the offense

ESPN recently proposed a trade that they deemed win-win involving the Chicago Bears and D’Andre Swift.

The deal is the rare three-team trade, which may make for better article fodder than a real-life deal. Still, it is worth wondering if the Bears would be okay with trading Swift and a fifth and sixth-round pick for Rachaad White.

"Bears receive: RB Rachaad White, 2027 seventh-round pick (from Chargers)
Chargers receive: RB D'Andre Swift, 2026 sixth-round pick (from Bears)
Buccaneers receive: 2026 fifth-round pick (from Bears)

Swift posted a remarkably poor negative-174 rush yards over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which was the worst total of any player last season. It marked the third season out of the past four in which Swift recorded negative rush yards over expectation; he posted negative first downs over expectation in all four of those seasons.

White, in contrast, added 48 rush yards over expectation on 144 carries last season in Tampa Bay. And he's elite in the pass game, with the second-best overall receiver score over the past three seasons combined"
Seth Walder

Would this trade make sense for the Bears?

There is some validity to the trade. White has been more efficient. However, the questions lie with the contract and age of White. White was drafted two years after Swift, but the two are the same age. Swift has more tread on his tires, but they are not getting a better commodity with age.

Beyond that, White will be a free agent after this year, and Swift still has one more year of team control, whether the team keeps him or not at his salary. Lastly, Swift is coming off of back-to-back seasons with 220 carries, and last year it was all the way up to 253. That was on a terrible offense, so of course, the efficiency was awful.

Meanwhile, White had 272 carries, but was down to 144 last year. He was also on a talented Bucs offense.

White was more efficient, but the reasoning can be explained. The age and contract tend to favor Swift, and while Ben Johnson may not love Swift, the thought should be that this is more White for Swift straight up, and the Bears should not need to include a sixth-round pick.

However, Chicago is including a sixth-round pick because Tampa Bay does not need a running back. That is the purpose of trading White. Swift would go to Los Angeles, and the pick would go to Tampa.

The Buccaneers just getting a fifth for White makes sense. Adding Swift to Los Angeles for a seventh makes sense. The Bears trading Swift, a fifth, and a sixth for Swift and a seventh is probably the side giving up too much.