Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:
“When are things going to heat up for the Bears on the trade market? — Dennis G., North Side”
“People love trade talk. I’ve been getting questions in the mailbag since at least Week 3, maybe earlier, about potential moves. Everybody loves the idea that the team could turn a late-round draft pick into an impact player.
I can’t emphasize enough that it’s a mistake to look at the NFL trade deadline as you view it in the three other major sports. The NFL deadline has gotten busier in the last five-plus years with younger front-office personnel who are more open to outside thinking. But it never will be like the deadlines in the other leagues.”
Biggs goes on to post out how much of the NFL season is left and that most teams haven’t decided if they are buyers or sellers yet. But I’ll go in a different direction.
In no other sport is the draft of young players is more important than it is in the NFL. Let’s take a look at the players that the Colts traded away this week.
They traded left guard Quentin Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. Sure, he’s an eight time Pro Bowler and he was second team All Pro just last year but he’s 30 years old. He has maybe if you’re lucky four more years of productivity left? The Colts got a third rounder in a fifth rounder for him.
Deforest Buckner is a two times All Pro and a three-time Pro Bowler. But his last All Pro season was in 2020 and his last Pro Bowl season was 2023. He is 32 years old. He is also in a contract year. How many years of productivity does he have left? The Colts got a fourth rounder for him.
These guys are available for a reason. Although in the short term they might provide a productivity boost, draft picks are the life blood of a franchise. A third round pick should translate into a left guard that you would expect to win the starting job. He might not be an All Pro but a guy like that could provide high quality play on your offensive line for 10 years, the first three or four of which would come with a very low cap hit. Do you really trade away a fourth round pick that might turn into a good, young and cheap long-term contributor to your team for a guy whose skills are fading and who might play another 2 or 3 years?
I don’t think the Bears are going to want to trade away their future for short-term gain. If they’re going to make a trade like this, it’ll be for a good guy in his mid 20s and those aren’t the kind of guys that teams like the Colts are going to ordinarily trade away. Nor do they come cheap.
We’ll see what happens.