One of the biggest areas of struggle over the course of the Chicago Bears' first four games came on the ground. It was something head coach Ben Johnson was bound and determined to fix as the team went into Week 6 against the Washington Commanders.
And, boy did they ever. Running back D'Andre Swift had the best game of his Bears career, totaling 108 yards on the ground and 175 from scrimmage. Prior to Swift's performance, a potential trade was commonly on the minds of Bears fans.
As of this moment, though, one of the possible trade targets seems to be off limits. New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was asked multiple times, over the offseason, about the possibility of trading Breece Hall as he entered the final year of his contract. He maintained that there were "no plans" of trading Hall.
On Wednesday, Glenn was asked about it again, to which he responded:
"They're rumors. I still feel the same way."
The Bears may not need a Breece Hall trade after all, and that works to Ryan Poles' advantage
First and foremost, a Breece Hall trade would have been exciting. To be frank, let's wait until after the November 4 deadline to truly speak in absolutes. But, as it stands, it doesn't look like the Jets are going to part with their starting running back.
There are a variety of opinions surrounding Hall's potential worth in a trade, but a lot of the common answers seem to be right around a fifth-round pick. While that doesn't seem like much, it's still another draft pick that Ryan Poles would have in his back pocket to try and hit on.
Poles, of course, hasn't had a consistent track record when it comes to scouting and drafting. But, with Ben Johnson at the helm now, fans can rest assured the head coach will have more and more input. And, as we've come to learn, we can trust Johnson's eye for talent.
With Hall unlikely to be traded, the Bears wouldn't have a ton of options anyway. So, it is a great thing to see Swift having gotten going.
It might have simply been because of a switch up front, with Theo Benedet manning the left tackle position and showing off his athleticism laterally. Darnell Wright did the same, too, having one of the best games of his young career in Chicago.
Read more: The Bears records keep coming for Caleb Williams and it's only Year 2
If we can get these types of performances out of Swift going forward, then maybe the Bears didn't even need Hall to begin with.