The Carolina Panthers’ training camp took a brutal turn on day one when edge rusher Nic Scourton went down with an ACL injury, a setback that is expected to wipe out his entire 2026 season. Scourton is also seeking a second opinion before deciding when - or if - surgery will happen.
That injury has created an opening, at least in theory, for the Chicago Bears to make a move that could help both teams. The idea on the table is simple: Bears general manager Ryan Poles could reach out to Carolina and work out a trade involving edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo in exchange for a Day 3 draft pick.
For Chicago, it would be a short-term hit to the edge-rusher rotation. Odeyingbo is slated to battle Austin Booker for the starting job opposite Montez Sweat, and Booker’s 4.5 sacks in 10 games last year showed he could handle a bigger role.
But Odeyingbo’s first season in Chicago was underwhelming, producing just one sack in eight games before a season-ending injury ended his year. The Bears handed him a $51 million deal last offseason, and the return so far has not matched the price tag.
The upside for the Bears would come on the salary-cap side. Moving Odeyingbo would free up $16 million in 2026, money that could be used to chase help elsewhere. That could mean dipping into free agency for a couple of solid edge rushers, or it could give Poles the flexibility to make a bigger swing for Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby, which would finally give Chicago the elite pass rusher it has been missing alongside Sweat.
None of that makes a deal likely. Poles has not shown much appetite for adding talent through trades, and a move like this would be a departure. Still, if Chicago wanted to make a real statement before the 2026 season, this is the kind of bold step that could get fans believing the Bears are serious about a Super Bowl run.
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The skepticism lands at a time when the Bears are trying to build momentum under head coach Ben Johnson, and it also comes with a familiar edge aimed at Caleb Williams. Schlereths comments drew attention from Williams himself, but there are still plenty of people around the league who see Chicago as a team with real upside if the new regime can get the offense moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]