Sources: Bears trading for Commanders’ Sweat

The Commanders and Bears have agreed to a trade that will send defensive end Montez Sweat to Chicago for a 2024 second-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

Sweat, 27, is in the last year of his contract, and the Commanders are opting for a draft pick now rather than a compensatory selection they might receive if Sweat signed elsewhere as a free agent next year.

The news of the trade comes hours after sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the Bears granted cornerback Jaylon Johnson permission to seek a trade. Johnson, 24, is in the final year of his rookie contract and said he is looking for “respect and security” in the form of a new deal.

The trade injects talent into Chicago’s league-worst pass rush at the halfway point of the season. The Bears replaced three of their four starters along the defensive line ahead of the 2023 season in free agency and spent second- and third-round draft picks on defensive tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zaach Pickens. The Bears have an NFL-low 10 sacks this season and 46 pressures, which ranks 30th.

Through eight games, Sweat has 6.5 sacks, bringing his career total to 35.5 over five seasons.

Chicago’s 2024 second-round selection is currently the No. 35 pick in the draft. At the trade deadline in 2022, the Bears sent their own second-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for wide receiver Chase Claypool, who played in 10 games in Chicago. The Bears dealt Claypool to the Miami Dolphins after beating Washington in Week 5.

For the Commanders, the move is a nod to their losing record and the difficulty of keeping their defensive line intact. Sweat and defensive end Chase Young are both free agents after this season. Washington already has given out big contracts to defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen in the past two seasons.

In the offseason Washington had expressed a desire to extend Sweat, but with the ownership situation in flux — Josh Harris did not take over until late July — talks never developed. The Commanders also had told Young they would reward him if he had a productive season.

Because Washington remains optimistic about quarterback Sam Howell, it could leave the team with an inexpensive quarterback the next two seasons. That would have left cap space available for both Sweat and Young, but it also could have left the Commanders with an unbalanced pay structure — with a heavy investment in the defensive line and thin in other spots.

Had Washington extended Sweat and used the franchise tag on Young, for example, it would have had three defensive linemen counting for more than $20 million against the cap next season — and one offensive lineman over $10 million.

The high-priced line did not result in productive play by the defense. Washington does rank tied for sixth in the league with 25 sacks, but the Commanders rank 23rd in pass rush win rate. Among defensive linemen, Young ranks fifth in this area — but none of his linemates are in the top 55.

Washington drafted Sweat with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft, a pick obtained when the team traded back into the first round.

Sweat was an immediate full-time starter and has been productive, though he has yet to finish with more than nine sacks in a season. Sweat is one of seven players with at least five sacks in each of the last five seasons (since 2019), along with Chris Jones, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack, Maxx Crosby and Brian Burns, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

He’s also considered a strong run defender and has been durable. Sweat missed seven games in 2021 when he suffered a broken jaw, sat out one game because of Covid and two others after his brother was shot and killed. But in his other four seasons Sweat hasn’t missed a game.