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NFL Trade Deadline: Should the Chicago Bears make a splash? Here are a few targets
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- NFL Trade Deadline: Should the Chicago Bears make a splash? Here are a few targets
The Brief
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The 5-2 Bears travel to Seattle this week for their third primetime game of the season and second Monday Night Football appearance.
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What's happening behind the scenes is also garnering attention.
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The question remains if the Bears will be active before the Nov. 10 NFL Trade Deadline.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson simplified everything with a quick sentence.
"There's a lot going on," he said. No kidding.
The 5-2 Bears travel to Seattle this week for their third primetime game of the season and second Monday Night Football appearance. What's happening behind the scenes is also garnering attention.
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The NFL trade deadline is coming quickly. The question remains if the Bears will be active before the Nov. 10 deadline.
What they're saying
Johnson was asked about his role in trade discussions on Wednesday. It's a fair question considering the coach knows what the team needs, and can bring that to the general manager.
Johnson said those discussions with general manager Ryan Poles are consistent.
"It's certainly Ryan's domain, and yet we have constant dialog of what this team needs and where we can impact ourselves, not just this year but years in the future as well," Johnson said.
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It's why the Bears are in a precarious spot, just like last season.
At 5-2, they're a good team. They sit in second in the NFC North and are coming off a win over the Super Bowl runner-up. A win on Monday against Seattle on the road is a good indication they're a very good team; a loss on Monday night could also indicate they need a little help to get over the hump.
In 2025, the Bears opted for a smaller trade to deepen their pass rush. They acquired Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from Cleveland for a day-three draft pick. This year, they could opt for more.
Poles has made bigger splashes before the trade deadline. He acquired Montez Sweat and Chase Claypool mid-season for second-round picks in 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Claypool trade was a bust. Sweat is the Bears' best pass rusher.
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With a chance to improve the roster in a season where a team has yet to emerge as truly dominant, the Bears can make a swing to get closer to that level.
Will they? While there have been multiple reports painting the Bears as a team that's been actively making calls ahead of the deadline, time will tell if they actually make a swing.
Potential Trade Targets
If the Bears do make a move, there are different avenues they can take. Johnson noted on Wednesday that Poles is constantly doing what he can to improve the team.
"He's turning over every stone that he possibly can to improve this football team just like he has ever since I've gotten in this building and feel really good about our process," Johnson said.
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Some players have already gotten moved. The Colts traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco, and he was reportedly a player the Bears made calls on. He's far from the only one, however.
Who could the Bears target? Here are a few options:
Chargers DE Tuli Tuipulotu
The Bears need help with their pass rush. Dayo Odeyingbo is on injured reserve. Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy have emerged as contributors, but the Bears could use another piece to energize the pass rush.
Tuipulotu is young. At 24-yeard-old, he has 28 career sacks and is coming off a year where he had 13 total sacks in 2025. The Chargers are winless, and could be open to adding a draft pick at the risk of losing Tuipulotu in free agency since he's in the last year of his rookie contract.
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He wouldn't be worth a first-round selection, but he might be worth a day-two selection if the Bears could get him under contract past the 2026 season. It's one of the more attractive options on the market for the Bears.
Eagles DT Moro Ojomo
Moving from the outside in, Ojomo is an option for an Eagles team that could be looking to sell after quarterback Jalen Hurts was sidelined for the rest of the season.
Ojomo is an interior pass rusher, as his 15 pressures rank second on the Eagles in the first six weeks. It eases the loss of Odeyingbo and it creates depth when he does return.
This also takes attention away from Booker, Hardy, Grady Jarrett and Montez Sweat as pass rushers.
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Chargers DE Khalil Mack
Return of the Mack? Mark Morrison's hit would apply here.
The former Bears pass rusher was traded to the Chargers in 2022, and the Bears recouped a second-round selection that ended up being Jaquan Brisker. Adding Mack back might get the Bears' pass rush on track, but that's a maybe.
Mack is 35 and has reached double-digit sacks just once since getting traded to Los Angeles. That was a 17-sack season in 2023 when Mack played a full 17-game season. He hasn't played a full season since.
Mack wouldn't be one of the more expensive options, though. Plus, he's still regarded as a physical run defender and would be a move that would help the Bears in more ways than one.
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Eagles CB Riq Woolen
The Bears could also use cornerback help, with Tyrique Stevenson and Malik Muhammad battling injuries.
Woolen won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks last season, and is on a one-year deal with the Eagles. It depends on how hard Philadelphia commits to a rebuild, but if they decide to move Woolen the Bears could use an experienced cornerback who can play the physical style of man coverage that defensive coordinator Dennis Allen likes.
These are just a few directions the Bears could take. It depends on how aggressive they decide to be.
"We'll see what happens," Johnson said.
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The Source
Quotes are from Ben Johnson's Wednesday press conference and from outside reporting on NFL trade rumors.
