Potential Trade Bait Looks Different Now

A few weeks of personnel adjustment and salary cap wars led to a different looking landscape on the trade front for the Bears.

Even with the uptick in trades during weeks following the Super Bowl and in days prior to the October trade deadline, the real trading season for the NFL remains three days during the NFL draft and a few days prior.

The big trade for the Bears never came off for Russell Wilson, but Ryan Pace remained true to his predraft word as free agency finishes its first week with Kyle Fuller as their greatest victim.

"I think with any trade we're always going to have, we can't be reckless," Pace said prior to free agency. "We're always going to have our limits with every trade and that's going to be individual based on the position and the player you're talking about, of course.

"And I think the timeline it just dictates, you obviously have a lot of different things planned out with free agency and the draft and the last thing you want to do is put yourself or the team in a bad position where you get kind of stuck. So I think you have internal timelines that you know based on the calendar year with free agency and the draft and you operate from that."

Pace has left them in a place where they are not stuck. The trade for Wilson is still a possibility, although the probability depends solely on Seattle's eventual willingness to deal Wilson. Don't count on it because there's no reason Pete Carroll will be any more willing to do it in five weeks or after June 1 than he was a week ago.

There are players who could be dispatched from the Bears via a trade of some sort. Some are more likely to go than others. Here are the most likely.

1. Nick Foles

Andy Dalton took the job he hoped to have, and there is speculation on many fronts he'll be traded either at the draft or after June 1. If the Bears dealt him before June 1 they would have an overall savings of $1.33 million and after June 1 a $4 million savings. If he's cut, there is no savings for the Bears. They would lose $3.66 million of their cap space if they cut him before June 1 and $1 million after, according to Overthecap.com

Speculation since back during the courtship of Carson Wentz centered on the Eagles getting back Foles in a trade as a backup to Jalen Hurts. The last bit of speculation over this from former Overthecap.com contributor Brad Spielberger, who now writes for Pro Football Focus. It wasn't a report citing a source but his own thoughts saying he would "...expect his trade market (if that’s something Chicago is interested in) to now materialize, with Denver and Philadelphia two obvious potential suitors."

Philadelphia seems a more obvious direction for him, but his best chance to start again fastest might be Denver.

Dalton has been given the starting job without a battle, and this can't sit too well with Foles.

There are any number of teams out looking for backups so expecting the trade to Denver or Philadelphia is a bit presumptuous. Dallas could use a backup, and so could Miami, among others.

Whatever, it seems unlikely the place he'd be next season would be watching Andy Dalton from the bench—or whichever quarterback starts in Chicago.

2. Anthony Miller

This departure seemed a foregone conclusion since the fight in the playoff game with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Adam Schefter confirmed this belief when he reported last week the Bears are shopping Miller around the league. A second-round pick who failed to step up last year and had other difficulties might bring little in return, but trades of this type are common prior to the draft. Expect Miller as a throw-in during a draft trade when the Bears move up or even down.

3. Jaylon Johnson

This is where the Russell Wilson trade theories enter. 

This has not been put to bed mainly because Schefter said the Seahawks were not interested in making the deal "at this time." Brad Biggs of the Tribune agrees with Schefter, that the Bears by signing Dalton and putting themselves in their current personnel situation are set up to make another big trade before the draft or even after June 1 if the opportunity arises. NFL Network's Former Mike Silver has said virtually the same. The last week saw former Dolphins president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum saying on ESPN that the entire situation is too disquieting with nothing being said by Wilson or the Seahawks about their feelings toward each other.

The reason Johnson fits up here is twofold. First, if there are two players Seattle would want in a trade, it's more likely to be a young player on his first contract and the Seahawks were a miserable team defending the pass last year. They finished next to last in the NFL against the pass. If a Wilson trade came off, it would only make sense Johnson would be in it and not another promising offensive player like Darnell Mooney because Seattle has plenty of receivers.

The other reason Johnson ranks here is if the Bears pulled off the impossible trade for Deshaun Watson—although maybe more possible now than before—Lovie Smith could use a young, versatile cornerback in his pass defense and the Texans were 24th against the pass.

4. Akiem Hicks

Simply because he still makes a lot of money and the Bears had reportedly told him to seek a trade, although that seemed off the table after Fuller's departure and the Giants thwarting Pace's attempt to sign Kenny Golladay.

5. Andy Dalton

Sure, they just signed him. But Seattle would need a quarterback if they traded Wilson besides drafting someone. Who better than a quarterback they liked in the draft in 2011?

6. James Daniels

Still on his rookie contract, Daniels plays a position where the Bears could easily find someone in the draft in Rounds 3-4, if not Round 2.  They have a surplus at guard and Alex Bars fit in well last year, so Daniels would be expendable. The Texans gave up 50 sacks last year and Seattle, well, ask Wilson about their pass blocking. So both could use him.

7. Roquan Smith

He's still on his rookie contract, and Houston would make good use of him either as the weak side linebacker in Smith's cover-2 scheme or as the middle. It's more likely he'd fit in the Lance Briggs/Derrick Brooks role on the weakside because he's not especially tall at 6 feet. The middle of the zone needs to be defended by someone with better height in that scheme, like Brian Urlacher had.

Seattle might also demand Smith, but its hard to see the Bears giving him up unless they're not going to need to give up three first-round picks. Russell Wilson is 33 years old this season. But trading Smith for 25-year-old Watson would make more sense.

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