After three seasons where he underachieved overall, and with him looking like a prime candidate for a contract year surge this season, the Chicago Bears were well-justified to trade defensive tackle Gervon Dexter to the Atlanta Falcons.
Time will ultimately tell if the return the Bears got in the Dexter trade, cornerback Clark Phillips II and a fifth-round draft pick, ends up being at all meaningful, but it's not looking great so far. Through three games, as the Falcons opened the Week 3 NFL schedule Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers, Dexter has registered 14 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
According to Sumer Sports, Dexter's 22 percent pressure rate against the Packers was the fifth-best from an interior defensive lineman so far this season. He also owns the top mark, with a 30.4 percent pressure rate in Week 2.
With how the Bears' interior defensive line has done thus far, it would be awfully nice to have Dexter as an extra piece right now. But there is a lot of the season left, and we'll see if we're saying the same thing in, like, Week 10.
Gervon Dexter's Bears' DNA clearly hasn't gone away yet
In the locker room after the Bears' Wild Card Round win over the Packers last season, head coach Ben Johnson fully captured the hearts of Bears' fans (and fans of other Packers' rivals, whether they'd say so or not) by saying "F- the Packers!"
Johnson has also said, of the Packers and in full recognition of the rivalry, "I don't like that team." Postgame handshake vibes have also clearly shown he has some level of distaste for Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur, which only adds more teeth to the current state of the rivalry.
The Falcons dropped the Packers to 1-2 with a surprisingly dominant 35-14 win at Lambeau Field on Thursday night. Truly, based on the totality of how they've played over three games, the Bears' most-hated rival could easily be 0-3.
After the game Thursday night, in the glow of a win for his current team, Dexter shared a tweet capturing a quote from former Bears' wide receiver D.J. Moore from last December's win over the Packers.
"At the end of the day it's f--- the Packers always."
Read more: Bears need to replicate their winning formula from last season vs. Eagles
The response from Bears' fans to Dexter's sharing of that tweet are along the expected line. His Bears' DNA clearly hasn't faded yet, and maybe it'll never totally go away.
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