Khalil Herbert's reaction to being traded is a total gut punch to the Bears

Tuesday morning, the Chicago Bears kicked off the big NFL trade deadline day with one of (hopefully) multiple moves general manager Ryan Poles will end up making.

Running back Khalil Herbert had found himself out of the rotation on offense and, in a contract year, was certainly going to be traded before the deadline. The only question was, would there be a willing team to actually offer draft compensation for a running back?

To take it a step further, Herbert is a running back rental for just half a season. The Bears wanted to trade him, but no one knew for sure whether or not a deal would end up happening.

Sure enough, the Cincinnati Bengals were the team in desperate need at the position after seeing Zack Moss go down with a serious neck injury. It left them with Chase Brown and not much else, therefore, the Bengals pounced -- no pun intended.

Cincy traded a seventh-round pick in 2025 for Herbert, and the Bears were indeed able to get something in return for a player they had no plans to use in the future. Some might have thought it was too low of a return, but the reality was, Chicago wasn't going to get more than that for someone the league knew was out of the rotation and also in a contract year.

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Almost immediately following the trade, Herbert took to social media to react, and it might sting a little bit for Bears fans.

Khalil Herbert seems thrilled to be traded out of Chicago

Well, he sure seems happy. Obviously, Herbert desired and deserved an opportunity to play. So, on one hand this is a positive even for Bears fans. He was well-liked and a productive player, so it's hard not to wish him well.

But, with the state of the Bears currently, there's certainly another layer to this. Chicago is going to be in the thick of serious changes sooner or later, with head coach Matt Eberflus unlikely to last. Meanwhile, Herbert goes to a franchise that has an established head coach in Zac Taylor.

Not only that, but he joins an offense with the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase -- two of the league's elite at their positions.

Going from a franchise heading in the wrong direction to one who is looking to get hot and make a postseason run? That sounds like a good situation, for Herbert. It is well-deserved, and hopefully he and the Bengals can find a way to unseat the Chiefs later in the season.

Good situation for Herbert? Yes.

But, it doesn't make his reaction sting any less.