Usually, teams at the trade deadline are either buyers (teams in playoff contention looking to fill those few final holes) or sellers (teams out of the race looking to stack draft picks for the future). In the case of Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles, last Tuesday’s trade with the Washington Commanders for the services of edge-rusher Montez Sweat for a 2023 second-round pick left a fraught message — if the 2-6 Bears weren’t going to lock a guy up in his contract year with a new contract, what’s the point?
That question was answered quote decisively on Saturday with the news that the Bears had signed Sweat to a MASSIVE new deal.
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.
The deal was done by @KlutchSports agents Damarius Bilbo & Kelton Crenshaw. pic.twitter.com/aRQQdGROZZ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2023
Sweat now has the fifth-highest annual average salary among edge-rushers, behind only Nick Bosa, T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa, and Myles Garrett. His total guaranteed money ranks sixth.
Sweat, who Washington selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Mississippi State, is a superlative player at a position the Bears desperately need. This season, Sweat has eight sacks, four quarterback hits, and 15 quarterback hurries. Those 27 total pressures make him the most productive quarterback disruptor in his new defense — Yannick Ngakoue has 22 quarterback pressures, and Demarcus Robertson has 21.
And Sweat’s tape against the league’s best offensive linemen is entirely legit — his sack and four total pressures last Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles came primarily against right tackle Lane Johnson, the gold standard at his position.
Johnson hops as quickly as possible into his stance to stay square against Sweat's wide-9 alignment, and it works… until it doesn't. pic.twitter.com/dAXY6HA6C9
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) October 31, 2023
Sweat also had a sack and four total pressures against the Bears in Week 5, which probably helped his case a bit. Here, his grasp-and-escape sack against rookie right tackle Darnell Wright was pretty exceptional.
So, the immediate on-field benefits are clear. Did the Bears overpay for Sweat’s services? Perhaps, but this is a team rebuilding from the studs with a desperate need for what Sweat does best, and since the 2024 Bears will have about $80 million in effective cap space before this contract is added to the mix, it’s not as if Sweat’s deal will prevent Poles (or whomsoever else is in Poles’ position) from accentuating other positions in free agency and the draft. Losing the second-round pick in the trade does place this on the negative side, but if Sweat continues his status as an ascending player, it’s a reasonable move.