Ahead of the 2023 NFL trade deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern, the Washington Commanders have found a destination for defensive end Montez Sweat. Reports emerged last week that the Commanders (now 3-5 and third in the NFC East after a 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday) were open to trading several players, including defensive ends Sweat and Chase Young. And Monday saw talk of Sweat (a 27-year-old who’s set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason) going to the Atlanta Falcons or Chicago Bears in particular. Well, on Tuesday, CBS’ Jonathan Jones reported that Sweat is headed to Chicago in exchange for a second-round pick:
It's a second-round pick from the Bears, who had to compete with the Falcons to land Sweat.
Commanders get the deal done and the Bears get a pass rusher to extend.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) October 31, 2023
What’s interesting there is that the Bears are just 2-6 on the season after a 30-13 Sunday Night Football loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And many of the reports around them and trades have been about selling rather than buying, including around them giving cornerback Jaylon Johnson permission to seek a trade. But Chicago GM Ryan Poles has been looking for pass rush upgrades, and had been linked to both Young and Sweat. With the Bears struggling so much this year, though, Poles must be confident he can reach an extension with Sweat.
Sweat was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft (26th overall) after he finished his college career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. (He had previously played at Michigan State and at Mississippi’s Copiah–Lincoln Community College). In the NFL so far, he’s played in 67 games across five seasons, starting every game for Washington in 2019, 2020, 2022 and this year so far (and only missing seven games in 2021 due to a fractured jaw and time on the COVID-19 reserve/restricted list). He’s recorded 35.5 career sacks (6.5 in just eight games this year), 197 tackles (120 solo and 47 for loss), and nine forced fumbles. We’ll see how he fits in with the Bears and if they’re able to sign him to a new deal.
[Jonathan Jones on Twitter]
