The Chicago Bears have a path to make a Joey Porter Jr. trade work, and it starts with the state of their secondary.
Pittsburgh’s former second-round corner is in the middle of a contract standoff, with Porter currently on the PUP while he waits on a new deal that may never come. Jordan Schultz reported that multiple teams around the league have wondered about Porter as a trade target, and Chicago looks like one of the clubs that could check in.
For the Bears, the fit is obvious enough. Training camp has already exposed plenty of questions in the defensive backfield, and one of the biggest additions, Coby Bryant, is expected to miss most of the season at safety. That leaves Chicago with reason to keep searching for help at corner.
Jaylon Johnson is set on the outside, but the spot next to him has been far less settled. Tyrique Stevenson has been a major question mark since arriving in the league, and he and Porter came out of the same draft, with Stevenson going 24 picks later. Terell Smith is in the same boat as well, since he was also drafted in that class and is dealing with the same contract situation.
That gives Chicago something Pittsburgh might actually want. The Bears could offer Stevenson or Smith as part of a deal, giving the Steelers a cornerback they could plug in next year and, if they like him, extend at a cheaper rate than what Porter is seeking. It would also help limit the draft capital Chicago would need to send, though a notable pick would still have to be included to get Porter out of Pittsburgh.
There’s also a little bit of irony baked into the whole thing. Bears general manager Ryan Poles traded a second-round pick to the Steelers for Chase Claypool in 2022, and that deal went nowhere.
Claypool was a bust, Chicago didn’t win a game, and the pick eventually became No. 32 overall. Pittsburgh used that selection on Porter.
Claypool hasn’t been in the NFL since 2023, while the Steelers are now reportedly looking for multiple draft picks in return for Porter, who is chasing a major payday. For Poles, landing Porter would be a neat way to recover the player taken with the pick that got away.
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