Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears decided to stand pat as the NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday.
There had been speculation that the Bears might be sellers this year, after falling to 3-5 last week. With the offense struggling overall, some thought Allen Robinson could be on the move to a team in need of wide receiver help. Robinson is playing this year on the franchise tag, so he would become a free agent unless the Bears tag him again, although that is unlikely. Robinson’s only caught 26 balls for 276 yards and one touchdown, nearly halfway through the season.
Some people thought Andy Dalton might be on the move to New Orleans after Jameis Winston tore his ACL. But either Sean Payton was happy to roll with Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian, or Pace and Matt Nagy valued Dalton too much to let him go.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“Just his ability as a player knowing that you have that option if something ever happened to Justin is a一 I can sleep easy at night personally, I know so can this whole building,” said quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo about Dalton’s value to the team as their No. 2 QB. “And then No. 2, I think Justin, as he has grown, he is starting to ask more AP-level type questions. You know what I mean? And there’s an AP professor there to help him, that’s done it, been out there and done that.”
On the defensive side of the ball, some wondered whether it would be prudent to trade away Akiem Hicks, who is also playing out the last year of his deal. Hicks has shown he’s still an impact player on the defensive line and might have fetched valuable draft capital in any deal. But if the Bears still believe they can turn things around and aren’t ready to begin rebuilding, it’s obviously best to keep Hicks, who is not only a great player, but a vocal leader in the locker room.
The Bears did make one trade back in early October. They sent a 2023 sixth-round pick to Miami for return specialist Jakeem Grant. So far, the deal has worked out for the Bears as Grant has given the team a spark on special teams. Over four games he’s returned six punts for 62 yards and 12 kickoffs for 308 yards.
