Multiple NFL Execs Had Alarming Comments About Montez Sweat

The Chicago Bears looked brilliant when they traded for Montez Sweat in 2023. His impact was felt immediately on defense, turning it into one of the NFL's best over the second half of that season. Through his first 16 games with the team, he had 9.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hits. However, something happened since then. Nobody knows for sure, but in the past 13 games, Sweat has three sacks and nine QB hits. His production dropped by two-thirds. He has one sack in four games to start this season, and fans are getting restless.

People have tried to determine the cause of the problem. Last year, Sweat was battling injuries. You can understand a dip in production for those reasons. However, by all accounts, he's healthy now, but the numbers haven't returned. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune went digging into the issues. He reached out to multiple executives and scouts around the NFL and asked for their assessments. The replies he got were more than a little alarming. They're just as baffled by the regression, considering Sweat isn't showing signs of aging yet.

That said, something is definitely missing.

“You respect a guy like that,” said a senior personnel man for another club. “Guys like that may be having a down year and then — boom — one play and he’s back at it. Speed, burst off the edge, I think all those things are still there. He doesn’t have the production, but what is he facing? What are they doing around him?”

Added a pro personnel director for another club: “Last year, you could blame the injuries and everything. It’s super interesting to me because he’s not impactful. He looks like just a guy, to be honest with you. He’s always been a stiffer guy (because of his length) but he’s been able to play with it. He’s not explosive now. After he came over in the trade, I gave him a difference-maker grade.”

Said a third source, this one a veteran pro scout: “Other than Jerry Jones, who trades elite edge rushers? No one. He’s more smooth than explosive now. He’s still got an extremely athletic body but he’s not as sudden or as explosive.”

The Bears have a tough decision on Montez Sweat if this trend continues.

If he can't turn things around over the final 13 games of the season, GM Ryan Poles will face an uncomfortable issue. Do the Bears keep him another year in hopes he can figure it out, or do they cut their losses in the offseason and get out from under his contract? Were they to cut him, they'd be on the hook for $18 million in dead cap with $6.9 million in space. Trading him would flip those numbers, but finding a taker might prove difficult if his production remains flat. Losing him, along with Andrew Billings (who is a free agent), would create serious issues up front on defense.

The best-case scenario for the Bears is for Montez Sweat to snap out of his funk. Unfortunately, based on what the NFL execs see, he may have lost his fastball. We all knew that pass rusher was likely on top of the team's list of priorities going into 2026. This situation merely reinforces it.