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This page lists all the 2023 Trades for the Chicago Bears. I’ve listed all of the NFL Free Agent Signing Grades here, which included the trades. Because I’ve begun posting polls for the trades, I thought it would make sense to list just the NFL trades here, so archiving the voting would be easier.
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- Total Trades: 3
- Average Grade: B (85.7)
October 2023 – Trades and Signings
Bears acquire DE Montez Sweat from Redskins for 2024 2nd-round pick
Of all the teams that could have acquired a major talent on the day of the trade deadline, the Bears would have been near the bottom of everyone’s pool. Yet, it makes sense, almost. The Bears are going to have a ton of cap space next offseason, so they’re essentially treating this like a free agency signing that’s occurring five months early. Sweat is a tremendous pass rusher and will fill a huge need for Chicago.
I wrote “almost” as far as this making sense because there’s one negative attached to this trade, and that would be that the Bears could win more games because of Sweat this year. That will hurt their draft positioning. Obviously, they have Carolina’s pick as well, but landing the top two selections in the draft would allow them to deal the No. 2 pick for a king’s ransom. That no longer seems to be a likely scenario. Still, obtaining Sweat for an atrocious defense is a great move.
As for the Redskins, it’s no surprise that they’ve begun the rebuilding process. They’ve already won too many games to land Caleb Williams, but perhaps they can tank enough to obtain Drake Maye. Getting a high second-round pick is a nice piece for the future.
Grade for Bears – B+
Grade for Redskins – A-
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Dolphins acquire WR Chase Claypool from Bears for swap of 2025 sixth- and seventh-round draft picks
It wasn’t too long ago that the Bears acquired Chase Claypool. In fact, you can still see the grade below. They surrendered a second-round pick for Claypool, meaning that they turned their second-round selection into a sixth-round choice. That obviously is a huge failure, but at least Chicago recognized a sunk cost.
Claypool did not work out in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean that he’s doomed to fail in Miami. He has a ton of speed, so I have to think that Mike McDaniel will figure out creative ways to use him. I’m not very bullish on him panning out for Miami, but the Dolphins aren’t really giving up anything for him, so they’re definitely the winners of this trade.
Grade for Dolphins – B+
Grade for Bears – C
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March 2023 – Trades and Signings
Panthers acquire No. 1 overall pick from Bears for WR D.J. Moore, No. 9 overall pick, 2023 2nd-round pick, 2024 1st-round pick, 2025 2nd-round pick
When the Texans foolishly won during the final week of the season, the Bears secured the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which allowed them to trade the selection for a king’s ransom. This particular king was worth an extra first-round pick, two second-round selections, and a No. 1 receiver.
I imagine this is the most the Bears could have gotten from any of the teams seeking to move up for one of the top quarterbacks in this class. This haul will give them a great foundation to build around Justin Fields. They’ve given Fields a top wideout in D.J. Moore, and they’ll be able to either protect him with an offensive lineman or pair him with a dynamic backfield threat in Bijan Robinson with the No. 9 overall pick. The Panthers probably won’t be great in 2023, so the 2024 first-round pick they obtained from Carolina could be in the top 10.
The Panthers, meanwhile, had to do whatever it took to trade up to No. 1. The best-case scenario with staying at No. 9 overall would have been settling for Will Levis. In the wake of this trade, the Panthers can choose whichever quarterback they prefer between Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. Sure, they had to surrender lots of resources in the process, but either Young or Stroud will allow them to begin the rebuilding process under their new coaching regime.
Grade for Panthers – B+
Grade for Bears – A+
Comment on the other free agent signings below.
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