Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles walks on the field before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)
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Ryan Poles loves to make mid-season trades, which makes the Bears a team to watch as Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline approaches. But the player believed to intrigue him the most is no longer on the board.
Miami’s interim general manager Champ Kelly, a former assistant director of player personnel for the Bears who was bypassed in favor of Poles after the 2021 season, agreed to send edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to the Eagles for a third-round pick early Monday.
The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs quoted a source who said the Bears had interest in Phillips. Phillips, a first-round pick in 2021, is eligible for free agency after the season. That may have decreased Poles’ willingness to trade such a high pick as it’s unclear the Bears could afford to extend him.
They already after Montez Sweat ($25.1 million) and DJ Moore ($24.9 million) on the books for major salary cap hits with contracts that run through 2027 and ’29, respectively. Both were acquired by Poles in trades, with the Sweat deal coming just before the deadline in 2023.
Because he took over a rebuilding project, Poles has more mid-season history trading away veteran talent than acquiring it, however. He dealt Roquan Smith to Baltimore and Robert Quinn to Philadelphia for draft picks in 2022, when he also tried to do Justin Fields a favor by adding wide receiver Chase Claypool for a high second-round pick (the Steelers turned it into cornerback Joey Porter Jr.).
The Bears’ wild 47-42 victory in Cincinnati raised their record to 5-3 and gave them a 26-percent chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s algorithms. The outcome that was in doubt until Caleb Williams’ pass to Colston Loveland with 37 seconds left in the game seemingly increased the team’s interest in upgrading its roster.
There may be more talks between Poles and Kelly, as the 2-7 Dolphins are positioned to deal away more talent. They are believed to be shopping two of their remaining edge rushers, Bradley Chubb and Matt Judon. Neither is having a strong season, as judged by Pro Football Focus grades, and Chubb’s contract — he’s in the first year of a three-year, $54.5 million contract — is a lot for any team to swallow.
Judon, a Pro Bowler for consecutive seasons in 2019-22, signed only a one-year, $3 million deal this year, his age-33 season. He could probably be easily acquired for a low draft pick or pick swap but would he be a true upgrade?
The Bears got a lift on Sunday from 22-year-old Austin Booker, who had one of the team’s three sacks in his return from a knee injury suffered in the preseason. While they rank 19th in the NFL with 2.1 sacks per game, they’ve had nine in the last three games.
One of those came from nickel back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who they signed after he was released by both Houston and Baltimore this season. Sweat has had a sack in three consecutive games and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. is also consistently pressuring quarterbacks (career-high 3 1/2 sacks).
With injuries sidelining Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Terell Smith, the secondary seemed perilously thin but took a step forward last week. Tyrique Stevenson returned from a shoulder injury and Gardner-Johnson played 40 snaps only four days after signing. The downside was having the versatile Josh Blackwell lost to concussion protocol in the victory over the Bengals.
Offensive line depth always seemed to be an issue, with undrafted rookie Theo Benedet having replaced Braxton Jones at left tackle (and Jones subsequently being placed on Injured Reserve).
Any major trades would likely force the Bears to restructure contracts. They currently rank 25th in the NFL with only $6.7 million remaining below their adjusted salary cap figure of $285.3 million, per Spotrac.