Could the Bears Land the Browns Star Pass Rusher in 2026?
The Chicago Bears have been emptying their defense so far this offseason. They’ve traded and released players like safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Chicago had a very successful year-one campaign under head coach Ben Johnson, but struggled on defense to keep their opponents from scoring often. While they seem like they’ve completed their releases, they should now turn their focus to acquiring more replacements, as they did with adding defensive back Coby Bryant. They’ve been set on one side of the pass rushing room with Montez Sweat, but left with major questions on his opposite side. The Bears hope that pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo can turn his current narrative around with the team, after he’s struggled to be of any value since signing a three-year, $48 million contract with the Bears. Chicago might not have to just rely on his turnaround and may have a shot at gaining one of the best pass rushers in the league.
Defensive end Myles Garrett has solidified himself as one of the most dominant pass rushers in NFL history, despite lacking team achievements with the Cleveland Browns, such as a Super Bowl or many playoff appearances. The Bears had chances at players like Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson, but ultimately weren’t able to land them. They have a new opportunity to gain a star of even more value to those players, after being named as one of the candidates to trade for Garrett in an article by Bleacher Report. His trade talks have most recently begun to gain some traction after the Browns modified his contract. The Browns have claimed it was to create more cap flexibility, but it also makes it easier to trade Garrett in the future if they feel the need to.
General manager Ryan Poles has been credited with using the Bears’ cap space wisely and wouldn’t just gain a player without it being a team-friendly contract. A player of the caliber of Garrett, however, would make Chicago an instant Super Bowl contender and plenty of sense to cough up the money. Poles has shown he’s also not afraid to trade some of his players this offseason if it absolutely benefits the Bears in the long run, and acquiring Garrett only sets the team up at pass rusher for years to come. As of now, the Browns have stated they are not interested in trading Garrett. That being said, the NFL is a business that changes every single day, and anything can happen, as we saw with the situation involving Crosby. The Bears will be a team to keep an eye on in the pass-rushing market as the offseason progresses, as they still have major questions to answer on who will be opposite of Sweat for the foreseeable future.
