Does the Chicago Bears’ sitting at (4-3) make them more or less likely to swing a trade before the deadline hits on Tuesday, November 4, at 3:00 p.m. CT? Could the result of this Sunday’s game aganst the Cincinnati
Bengals factor into any possible deals?
The recent free agent addition of defensive back C.J. Johnson-Gardner and the recent activation of defensive end Austin Booker off injured reserve may also play a role.
Before looking at some of the “rumors,” I want to address the use of the word rumor. Oftentimes, league insiders frame their reports as speculation, which means it’s technically not a rumor, but if it’s sourced speculation, then it could be classified as a rumor because the insider may have been told a team is willing to shop a player or would be willing to add at a position if the price were right. That makes deciphering the “rumors” difficult, but when it comes to the big outlets (ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, etc.), they generally add a caveat so we know if it’s just them creating conversation through content, or if there’s a shred of truth to what they are publishing.
For example, earlier this week, ESPN released a list of players who could be moved based on the value they’d potentially bring to a new team — so speculation. But they added the line, “weaving in what we’re hearing,” — so sourced speculation. An insider can’t burn a source, so they’ll never come out with a ‘Team X is shopping this player’ so we get these types of rumor articles.
I’ve been doing this long enough to know that beat reporters and national reporters, get stuff all the time off the record that they can’t technically report on, but that they can cryptically tweet about or frame as speculation. The flip side is that there are a lot of fake insiders who make things up for clicks or twist quotes for easily shareable Facebook posts to fool fans.
These days, thanks to social media, we’re all in the media. The lines between journalists, beat reporters, radio hosts, opinion columnists, content creators, podcasters, bloggers, and fans are blurred, so it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not.
My advice is to find the sources you trust and follow them. If your sister’s boyfriend DMs you a meme from SackupSports on Facebook about how the Bears are in talks to make a blockbuster trade at the deadline, consider the source and tell him to stop being a dumbass.
Not every reporter/insider/blogger is batting 1.000, and some get worked with bad intel from time to time, but I know who I trust nationally, locally, and in a non-traditional-media sense.
I personally don’t think the Bears are actively in talks to make a trade, but I’m sure general manager Ryan Poles would listen if something presented itself, and he has a few feelers out around the league. A day three pick swap for a player is all that I could see happening, but that’s 100% speculation on my part.
Now, all that being said, here are a few “rumors” that I’ve gathered from around the interwebs related to the Bears. If I see any others in the news in the next few days, I’ll update this tracker.
- The aforementioned ESPN article lists a couple of defensive ends they feel are on the market, for which the Bears could make sense: Jermaine Johnson (New York Jets) and Arnold Ebiketie (Atlanta Falcons).
- They list left tackle Braxton Jones as a Bear that other teams could be interested in. Jeremy Fowler writes, “Rival teams agree that Jones is a sensible trade candidate after his benching in favor of Theo Benedet and his résumé as a multiyear starter in Chicago.” Jones being on injured until Week 13 at the earliest complicates a potential trade, but if his health issue is not considered a long-term thing, a desperate team could want him as LT insurance for a playoff push. The USA Today feels the Chargers could be such a team.
- The USA Today also has the Jets’ Breece Hall as an option for the Bears.
- A few ESPN staffers have mentioned Chicago wide receiver DJ Moore as a trade candidate. The Athletic also floated the idea of Moore being moved to a team desperate for a wideout.
- CBS Sports feels the Bears will stand pat.
- Cornerbacks with ties to Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen have been mentioned for weeks.
- With the Miami Dolphins GM stepping down, and them falling to (2-7), it’s looking more likely that they’ll trade off some players, with pass rushers Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Matt Judon among those mentioned the most.
