Wednesday night, the Chicago Bears made headlines in a roundabout way. When the New England Patriots agreed to trade pass rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons, it was soon reported the Bears were also in on a Judon deal.
Ultimately, New England opted to go with Atlanta's offer. But, what made Atlanta's offer any better than the Chicago's?
According to Patriots insider Phil Perrry:
"There were several teams interested in acquiring the 32-year-old, according to league sources, including the Bears, whose desire for a pass-rusher led them to offer a third-round selection of their own."
Sources: Several teams were interested in Matthew Judon, but it ultimately came down to the #Bears and #Falcons, with Atlanta finalizing the deal today. https://t.co/l46eVBo8FO
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 14, 2024
Interesting ... the Bears also offered a third-round pick in exchange for Judon. That means the Patriots believed they would get a higher pick in the third round if they went with the Falcons' offer.
Even after Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins, added Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore while already boasting a fairly-complete roster on both sides of the ball, the Patriots still looked at the Bears and figured they would finish with a better record than the Falcons.
It appears as though the league has taken official notice of this Bears roster. The Caleb Williams effect is real, folks. And that effect began way before the draft. When Chicago traded for Keenan Allen, the former Chargers wideout knew Williams was coming. After that deal went down, you got a sense that Ryan Poles had gotten very serious about building a contender and doing it as soon as possible.
Fast forward, and the Bears look to have a top-10 defense, complete with a dangerous linebacker core and a secondary that might be one of the best in the league. The only thing missing was another pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat, which the Bears still might be able to pursue.
What pass rushers could the Bears still target before the regular season?
There are a few free agents still available, but these might be the best two out there.
Yannick Ngakoue, Free Agent
An easy answer would be for the Bears to go back to the well and re-sign Yannick Ngakoue, who is still out there. His season in Chicago, last year, didn't pan out as good as he'd hoped. But, with a refreshed and rejuvenated defense (and team, overall, for that matter) we might see a different Ngakoue than we saw in 2023.
Charles Harris, Free Agent
The former first-round pick back in 2017 most recently played for the Detroit Lions and tallied 10.0 sacks over three seasons there, including 7.5 in 2021.
Could the Bears still trade for a pass rusher?
There may not be any real options via trade after the Judon deal, but these names would be worth checking in on at the very least.
Haasan Reddick, New York Jets
Of course, the recent Haasan Reddick situation is one to monitor. The Jets traded a third-round pick for Reddick, who has yet to play or practice with the team and just demanded a trade a couple of days ago. However, the Jets hold all the power here. Even if Reddick holds out and doesn't play, and ultimately signs elsewhere when his deal is up, New York would receive a third-round compensatory pick.
If the Bears wanted Reddick badly, they'd have to offer more than a third rounder. If they happened to make an offer, it might just be a game-changing deal for this season's outlook.
Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers
There hasn't been much on the Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa trade front in a few months, but it's still worth noting they have $25.6 and $26.1 million cap hits, respectively, this season. Bosa's even goes up to $36 million next year.
Some don't believe the Chargers will be able to create an immediate turnaround behind Jim Harbaugh, and if they'd entertain a trade for one of those guys in order to relieve some cap, maybe it's worth calling and checking in on them.