AZ54

The thing for me is that I simply do not see a center as a game changing position. The fact we have some of the best OGs in the NFL next to a Center, and a really good RT too should mean we can get by with a good but not elite center. Dalman stretched that model last year with his huge contract but at the time we needed that gap closed and he was best available option. Now we know better what we have and we don’t have as much of a learning curve across the entire offense. (I watched Bear Down w/ Adam Mason and also Da German Bears reviews on centers earlier today) Despite that elite contract Dalman still had flaws and was exposed at times in pass protection, both 1v1 and on stunts where he completely whiffed on his block. Biadasz graded out similar to Dalman but he’s not as nimble and won’t be able to make those really wide reach blocks. Yet he’s still good at them and he’s got a better anchor in 1v1 pass pro which would be nice to have. He’s also really quick at picking up stunts. For $10mil/yr (if that is a realistic price tag) I don’t think we’ll see any dropoff in the offense although some things might look different based on his traits (because we have a coach who leverages talent and skillsets). If my luck holds out I might be able to use the left over cap space to bring in Trent Williams for a couple years. That’s a swing for the fences but I would do that and then just use my entire draft to go fix the D. Signing Trent also removes him from a key NFC opponent which only helps us more in the playoffs. If he hits the market, he will definitely be looking to go to a playoff team with a good QB and OC/HC. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/trent-williams-great-news-bears-163912846.html

For obvious reasons I never looked into Centers in this years draft but there is some very good depth there. If Linderbaum is going to get $20mil/yr we need to walk away from that. Biadasz has some injuries last year that impacted his play and they walked away from him at a relatively high price in dead money with little cap gain. Would we be better off snagging one of the mid-tier FAs and saving $5-10mil in cap space that we could use toward so many of our other needs, and then just drafting our future Center? "Washington saved just $2.9 million in salary cap space via the cut, while incurring an $8.1 million dead money hit in 2026"

The first order of business right now is finding a FA Center to replace Dalman. Nothing is as important as protecting Caleb right up the middle as well as keeping the running game going. IMO the Bears will close on that deal first then sort out the remaining options.

Best I can do is DJ and Tremaine plus this years second round pick.

What I saw from Biggs is that the Bears are not interested in trading Dexter. Not that other teams don’t want him. Biggs further said that it’s as simple as not wanting to create another hole on the roster at a position of need.

I think it will depend on Edmunds contract demands. Is he wants big money terms will back off. If he’s taking second tier money we might get a 4th.

After thinking about this for a bit, at the very least this should help drive up the price for Edmunds and Moore. That’s assuming teams have legit interest and aren’t just bargain hunting.

I’d love to have Maxx but the price is likely too high.

Let's play best case scenario: Reports of interest in DJ Moore as well and for a possible Day 2 pick. Hard to say what will happen but in a best case scenario we get a 2nd Rd pick for Bagent (more proven and cheaper than any 1st Rd pick, better than any other QB in the draft). DJ Moore nets us a 3rd Rd pick but there is suspicion we might have to eat some of the salary to make that happen. Edmunds I think can net at least a 4th Rd pick. IMO the Falcons and NFL still owe us a 3rd Rd pick too. We'd have 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th.

Seeing reports that 3 teams are interested in Edmunds

Yes and that will include all the other teams who are interested in trading for our players like Bagent, Moore.

It also appears he’s about to run a stunt since the other DT is running towards him. Even that doesn’t prevent him from standing up and taking a half step forward. At least sell it a little bit.

I agree this year has the same feel of a big overhaul coming on the D like we saw last year on offense. After listening to the press conferences at the combine the Bears are open to all options. The D will likely look dramatically different in ways I can’t predict. To that end it appears trade talk on Bagent is heating up.

Cap numbers were released today. Bears are officially $6.5mil in the hole. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/chicago-bears

This trade idea for a good LT I could see. Of course it'll be a 2nd tier type of player but we need that.

A good defensive front has four guys who can rotate in

The something I might get out of keeping him is a much better Dline rotation that is good enough to get us into the Super Bowl.

That’s where I’m at. I want to upgrade the D line. Dexter is our best interior pass rusher grading well in that aspect despite his flaws. He struggles to get off blocks and make tackles on runs. He also just 24 years old which is as old as two of the top 5 DTs in the draft class. Can he be replaced via the draft? Of course but not likely with the trade value we’d get in exchange. Any decent FA will likely cost more. i keep him as part of the rotation and try to add two starter level talents. One via FA and one in the draft.

People complaining about Swift's lack of toughness between the numbers and their solution is to trade him and then draft an outside-the-numbers runner in Singleton?

No he was pretty clear about looking at options for DJ. No need to tip toe around it just leave it out there and make the market as big as possible.

Work ethic

Sure if you have one buyer and one seller. $15mil could easily be converted into a bonus with lower salaries in year two or three bringing it to an AAV much less than $10mil.

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2026/02/bears-qb-tyson-bagent-drawing-interest#ref=home this appears to be more than one team with interest. Makes sense given the weak QB draft.

I watched Poles’ and Ben Johnson’s press conferences at the combine. Very clear he’s getting phone calls about players. Very clear that DJ is absolutely available. Might be Kmet too as he said he’s going to do what he feels gets the best roster overall. Stay tuned.

Now that is how you drive up the trade value. Could you find a better promo for a backup QB than Ben Johnson saying that.