The Chicago Bears paid a massive price in Montez Sweat trade
Before acquiring Sweat, the Bears' defense had recorded only 10 sacks so far this season. That is absolutely pathetic. Sweat himself has 6.5 sacks this season, including 1.5 sacks against the Bears. To put things into perspective just how bad the Bears' pass rush has been this year, see the stat below.
Sacks this season:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 31, 2023
- Montez Sweat: 6.5
- Entire Bears defensive line: 6.5 https://t.co/ELaEJCxDhQ
General Manager Ryan Poles paid a massive price to acquire Sweat the of the trade deadline largely because the players he had signed and drafted on the defensive line have not been productive at all. So for the second consecutive season, he had to double down by giving up a second-round pick to get a player to address the positional weakness he failed to address so far in his tenure, along with the center along the offensive line.
Then on Saturday, Poles and Sweat came to terms on a massive contract extension.
New #Bears edge Montez Sweat has agreed to a massive 4-year extension worth $98M in new money — $24.5M average per year. He gets $72,865,360 guaranteed with the total deal being worth $105M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2023
The deal was done by @KlutchSports agents Damarius Bilbo & Kelton Crenshaw. pic.twitter.com/aRQQdGROZZ
Poles acquired Sweat with every intention to sign him to an extension as he was going to be a free agent this upcoming off-season. Letting him hit the market made absolutely no sense because now you have other teams to compete for his service, driving up his price further with no guarantees he would return to Chicago.
Give credit to Poles, who indicated that he was working on a contract extension with Sweat when he met with the media. Did he overpay? Yes, but that's with every free agent in every sport. He will not be the last player where the fans will bemoan the cost it took to acquire a talent.