The Bears have been linked to plenty of deadline chatter, but the latest developments only make the pressure on Ryan Poles feel heavier. With the trade deadline two weeks away, Chicago has already watched two big names come off the board after the Indianapolis Colts, sitting at 2-5, moved both Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.
The Colts’ sell-off sent eight-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers. In return, Indianapolis collected three draft picks from those two deals combined. Multiple reports said the Bears were in the mix for both players, but they came away empty-handed.
That creates an awkward reality for Chicago, especially on the Nelson front. Many Bears fans were surprised the team was even involved there, given that Joe Thuney is already at left guard and Jonah Jackson - who is having a career season - is also on the interior. The only way it makes sense is if the Bears were thinking long term, with Nelson three years younger than Thuney and Thuney’s play having dipped this season.
Buckner, though, was a different kind of miss. Chicago being connected to him made more sense, and it stung because he would have filled a spot the Bears have been trying to strengthen. Grady Jarrett and Kentavius Street have started at defensive tackle, but Jarrett is getting older, and Buckner would have brought Pro Bowl-level impact to a position that has been solid without being dominant.
The Colts wound up sending Buckner to San Francisco for just a fourth-round pick, which only adds to the frustration from the Bears’ side. That kind of price would have been hard to top if Poles had pulled it off.
Now the question is what Chicago does next. Maxx Crosby is still viewed as a name the Bears need to figure out how to acquire, and the Las Vegas Raiders may be open to a deal as they’ve lost four straight games. A second-round pick plus another Day 3 pick could be enough to get that done.
Khalil Mack is also still available, and the Bears have reportedly been active in trying to trade for him over the last week or so. A high Day 3 pick sent to the Los Angeles Chargers would make sense as a straightforward path to getting that deal across the finish line.
Poles has to move quickly. The Bears are running out of time and starting to miss out on the biggest names on the market, and if they want to stay on track for a Super Bowl push in 2026, they can’t afford to watch many more of those opportunities disappear.
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With Buckner off the board, the conversation now shifts to a handful of alternative names who could still be in play over the coming weeks. Chicago can circle familiar options like Vita Vea, Moro Ojomo, Daron Payne, Grover Stewart, Zach Seiler and AShawn Robinson, but the most eye-catching fallback sits in Tennessee, where one big-name target would require a massive price tag and a trade package reminiscent of the Khalil Mack deal. For a Bears team trying to close the gap, the question is not whether help is needed. It is how far they are willing to go to get it. [Read more 🡒]