Head coach Matt Nagy knows until the offense starts picking up the slack, it will fall to the Chicago Bears defense to carry the load. To that end, it's his responsibility however possible to help that side of the ball improve. While he might not do that from an Xs and Os standpoint, it's possible he might be able to exploit one or two connections to certain players who can.
Plenty of names have already been mentioned on the trade market with a couple weeks left before March 18th when free agency begins. Most connected to the Bears center on offensive players, notably quarterbacks. However, there might be one defensive name out there they could be willing to go after.
Dee Ford.
The San Francisco 49ers traded for the pass rusher in 2019 after he racked up 13 sacks for the Kansas City Chiefs the year before. They then handed him a five-year contract worth $85 million. However, things appear to have changed. The team is trying hard to keep breakout star Arik Armstead on the roster, and John Middlekauff of The Athletic believes their best hope of pulling it off could be to trade Ford.
Matt Nagy could push to put Ford across from Khalil Mack
Ford's tradeability is difficult for the 49ers, but not impossible. He turns 29-years old this year and will command a cap hit of $15.9 million this coming season. He also missed five games last year because of health issues. A persistent theme throughout much of his career. However, he still had 6.5 sacks in 11 games and another in the playoff run to the Super Bowl. The guy knows how to get to the quarterback.
The Bears are still searching for somebody who can do that across from Khalil Mack. Leonard Floyd can't get it done. So why pay him $13.222 million this season? Sacrifice a mid round pick and give up an extra $2.67 million in salary to get somebody who can. If it works out, the Bears have a quality pass rusher under contract for another four years. If it doesn't, he can be cut in 2021 with a modest dead money hit.
The Bears would still have just over $23 million in cap space to conduct other business. It's a calculated risk, but one with huge potential rewards.
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