When the Chicago Bears made the decision to ship defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. off to the Atlanta Falcons, it seemed justifiable in the moment.
The Bears knew they weren't going to pay Dexter next offseason and, through three seasons as a pro, he's been good -- not great.
General manager Ryan Poles getting a player, Clark Phillips, and a pick for Dexter made sense. You could see the reasoning behind such a move.
However, through two games this season, the Bears' question marks across their defensive line remain.
Meanwhile, Dexter is balling out in Atlanta, looking like a player this Bears defense could certainly use.
Gervon Dexter Sr. is out-producing the entire Bears defensive tackle room by himself
Just how good has Dexter been through two weeks?
Currently, Dexter ranks second in the NFL among interior defensive linemen with eight quarterback pressures in his first two games.
That is more pressures than:
Jalen Carter
Daron Payne
Alim McNeil
Sheldon Rankins
Christian Barmore
Moro Ojomo
John Franklin-Myers
Quinnen Williams
Leonard Williams
(infomercial voice) "and so much more!"
Not proper grammar, but, you get the gist.
What makes this even more embarrassing is the fact that Dexter's eight quarterback pressures are more than every Bears interior defensive lineman combined.
That's right. The Bears' interior line has seven total pressures.
Dexter has started this season on an absolute tear, and to go with his pressures, he's also tallied a sack and six hurries.
Take PFF for what they're worth to you, but Dexter also has the second-best pass rush win percentage among all qualified at his position at 23.9 percent. Grady Jarrett is the closest Bears defensive tackle at 17th in this column.
This could very well be an argument that turns back into asking why Poles would decide to pay Jarrett the money he did over three years, instead of Dexter, which is completely valid.
It's been a question Bears fans have asked since the second that signing was announced, to be fair. Jarrett is past his prime and shouldn't have gotten that contract, but he did, and the Bears are now having to navigate it.
Really, this is just another example of a poor move by Poles. I understand it's easy to criticize the general manager. It's low-hanging fruit to criticize Poles at times, it really is.
But, how could fans not be upset? The Bears' defense has all kinds of question marks and, even though I was all for trading Dexter at the time, I'll admit this looks horrible now.
I understood not wanting to pay Dexter next year given that we'd have to fork over the cash for, Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, and others. But the payoff hasn't shown up. We haven't seen Phillips play yet. Who knows if he ever will play, barring an injury?
Dexter is proving himself a force in Atlanta, where they also desperately needed some help across their own defensive line.
My own opinion doesn't matter at this point. I could waffle back and forth all day long, looking at the positives and negatives of this deal.
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The truth of the matter is, Dexter is making Poles look foolish right now, and the Bears can't do anything about it.
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