Jaylon Johnson’s shocking trade request before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CT trade deadline seemingly positioned the Bears as sellers, as there wouldn’t be much rhyme or reason to deal star cornerback to only bring in talent to bolster the team.
General manager Ryan Poles is evidently in a buyer’s mindset, as he orchestrated a trade for Washington Commanders star pass-rusher Montez Sweat in exchange for a premium 2024 second-round pick. This bold move was the shot of adrenaline the fanbase needed, and it also went over well with at least one Bears player.
One player who’s excited about Sweat’s addition is linebacker T.J. Edwards, who was live on the air with 670 the Score when the news broke. Edwards was “fired up” when he gave his off-the-cuff reaction.
“That’s a helluva player,” Edwards said. “Hell yeah, that’s big time, no doubt.” He then added: “That’s an unreal addition.”
Poles’ aggressiveness in bringing in big-time talent sheds some light on what the angle could be for Chicago in the Johnson situation. His sudden demand to be traded paired with the front office agreeing to allow his camp to explore options seemed frustratingly careless on first glance, as it’s never a great sign when a team doesn’t reward their homegrown talent and opts to ship them off somewhere else.
With the element of the Sweat trade now being considered, it’s possible Poles may be playing the long game with Johnson. It’s possible what he’s willing to offer Johnson is not quite where Johnson wants it to be, so by allowing him to see what his others offers are, it may make him see that what Chicago is offering is right around the same ballpark as other teams. This could be a leverage tactic for Poles to bring Johnson back to the table with more reasonable expectations.
No matter what happens with Johnson, Sweat’s presence instantly makes a shoddy defensive line much more dangerous, and Edwards’ reaction shows that the players appreciate the help.