NFL Trade Grades: Bears plan for a brighter future with Montez Sweat acquisition

The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders agreed on a trade that would send Montez Sweat to Chicago. NFL's Adam Schefter first reported the news.

In the terms of the trade, the Bears sent the Commanders a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Sweat.

Why are the 2-6 Bears adding players ahead of the NFL trade deadline? We break down the trade and provide our analysis below.

NFL Trade Grades: Bears' trade for Montez Sweat is a big-picture move

Bears grade: B+

Our gut reaction to this trade was, "What?", but the context surrounding the Bears' move makes it make a lot more sense.

The Bears are going to be bad this season. This trade doesn't change that. What it does give the Bears is a defensive star to build around for the future -- and Bears fans should know all about planning for the future.

Montez Sweat ranks as one of the best prime edge defenders in the league with 35.5 sacks across the last five seasons. This year, he has 6.5 sacks, which is the same amount of sacks as the entire Bears defensive line.

Chicago is projected to have the most cap space this upcoming offseason (over $110 million) and will more than likely offer Sweat a multi-year lucrative extension.

Kudos to the Bears' front office for looking ahead to the 2024 draft class, realizing the pass-rushing prospects are nothing to write home about, and going out to get a former first-round pick with franchise-caliber potential in the D-line.

To say that Sweat will improve the Bears' pass-rush (one of their most pressing needs!) is an understatement. However, this trade falls short of an "A" because we don't trust Ryan Poles to competently construct a solid defense around Sweat in the future.

This time last year, Chicago made the ill-fated decision to trade for Chase Claypool, also giving up a second-rounder. Hopefully, this trade pans out better.

Commanders grade: A

After five productive seasons, Sweat was playing in the last year of his contract and outpricing his stay in Washington. The Commanders get a fantastic grade on this trade for getting decent draft capital for someone who likely would have ended up walking out the door in free agency.

A bug on the wall of the Commanders' front office may reveal negotiating conversations Sweat and his agent have had with the franchise. The upshot of those conversations may be: Sweat isn't getting a whole lot of money come March.

The Commanders have already sunk hundreds of millions of dollars in their defensive line with the Jonathan Allen ($72 million) and Daron Payne ($90 million) extensions. They also have up-and-coming star Chase Young playing out the final year of his rookie deal who is indisputably a higher priority than any other defensive player.

Sweat was a player the Commanders could afford letting go, and it's even better that they got what should be a high second-rounder for him. A sneaky good move in the first year of the Josh Harris-ownership era.