3 Bears players whose trade value will never be higher after surprising win
Whether they'd freely admit it or not, the majority of Chicago Bears fans couldn't have had high hopes for rookie Tyson Bagent's first start at quarterback on Sunday. But much to the delight of those same fans, the team actually played one of its best games of the season. The rookie seventh-rounder was solid, but the defense and rushing attack were the calling cards in the 30-12 win for the Bears.
The blunt truth of the situation, however, is that this team moved to just 2-5 on the season with Sunday's victory. It's looking increasingly likely they move on from Justin Fields at some point in the near future as the front office in Chicago looks to hit a hard reset and reshape the roster for something, hopefully, more fruitful.
After a performance like Sunday's, though, the Bears need to strike to enact that plan. The NFL Trade Deadline is just over a week away (Oct. 31), and there's a chance that several players will never have a higher trade value than after Week 7. As such, these three Bears should be put on the trade block immediately to deal to capitalize on Sunday's performance.
3. Cody Whitehair, IOL
Starting guard Nate Davis was inactive on Sunday against the Raiders, which forced Matt Eberflus to shift veteran interior offensive lineman Cody Whitehair over from center to guard. And after struggling quite obviously throughout much of the season to this point, the 31-year-old enjoyed arguably his best game of the season, as did the O-line as a whole.
Despite having a wholly inexperienced quarterback and Bagent behind him -- which can often lead to some poor offensive line looks as the result of rushed or poor decision-making -- Whitehair and the Bears line held up well. Bagent was sacked just once on the day and, while there were also more pressures throughout the win, it wasn't nearly as bad as we've seen in the past.
There are precious few teams in the NFL who couldn't stand to either upgrade the interior of their offensive line or add depth in that area of the roster, especially at this point of the season when injuries can already be taking their toll.
As mentioned, Whitehair has not put forth the most impressive 2023 season prior to this week. In his career, however, he's proven to be a solid and versatile cog on the interior. So after seeing him show the best form of the year on Sunday against Las Vegas, perhaps the Bears could be willing to part with him for a late-round pick, which could further help their long-term outlook.