3 reasons Chicago Bears trading for Montez Sweat was smart, 3 reasons it was foolish

Foolish Reason 2: The Chicago Bears will have to over pay Montez Sweat

The Chicago Bears do not think that they will get into the Chase Claypool situation again, and the odds are that will not happen. Sweat has a longer history of sustained production at this point in his career. Still, the Chicago Bears did put themselves in a bad spot at the negotiating table, very similarly to what they did with Claypool.

What if Sweat comes to Chicago and does not play well? Is he adjusting to the new scheme, just a few bad games? What if he is up and down? He is a free agent at the end of the season. Essentially, the only way the Chicago Bears keep him is to franchise tag him or overpay him. The franchise tag guarantees he stays. If he plays well, it is an obvious move but also an ugly one, and it still does not ensure he stays. So, the Bears have to franchise him, which is a slight overpay for his skill set. Then, that becomes the floor of his extension because the Bears agreed to pay it.

If he plays poorly, they still probably have to franchise tag him, or they lose him. They put themselves in a spot where they have to extend him no matter what he does in the next couple of weeks. Talk about giving the player all of the leverage.