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NFL rumors: The Saints trade Bears nearly made before deadline
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- NFL rumors: The Saints trade Bears nearly made before deadline
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The post NFL rumors: The Saints trade Bears nearly made before deadline appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The first calls came well before deadline week, as an NFL rumor. Indianapolis quietly checked corners around the league, including Alontae Taylor and Deonte Banks , before circling back to New York with the kind of offer that moves mountains.
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Only after the Colts met a Micah Parsons-style price, two firsts plus a starter, did Sauce Gardner become attainable, and that single decision cascaded through several other negotiations.
League chatter adds another near-deal to the pile. Before Indianapolis finalized its Gardner blockbuster, multiple teams poked at Taylor, and Chicago pushed hardest.
The Bears were deep in talks to acquire the Saints' corner, a clean schematic fit given his time with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans and a timely play for a defender entering a contract year.
NFL sources, as rumors, say discussions stretched into Monday and Tuesday , only to fizzle. Chicago pivoted, and Taylor stayed put while the Bears struck a different trade. The Saints held a valuable expiring asset, the Bears kept their picks, and the Colts' all-in approach on Gardner effectively closed that chapter.
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What it means going forward is straightforward. New Orleans retains a starting-caliber outside corner for a stretch run, with the franchise tag or a multi-year payday looming in March.
Chicago still needs answers at the corner but chose cost certainty on the edge instead, while Indianapolis planted its flag with a premium acquisition that signals belief in the roster right now. The ripple effect from Gardner's price tag flattened several mid-tier ideas, and Taylor was at the center of one of the most serious.
Chicago's contingency came quickly. The Bears acquired defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from the Browns, sending a sixth and receiving the edge rusher plus a seventh.
The move followed a gut-punch Achilles injury to Dayo Odeyingbo and a game in which the pass rush could not heat up Joe Flacco . Tryon-Shoyinka is not a star, but he offers immediate snaps and length on the edge for a 5-3 team that hosts the Giants next.
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If Taylor hits the market, the courtship will be crowded. For now, the miss underscores how one megadeal can redraw the entire deadline map, even for negotiations that looked close.
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