The Chicago Bears may have just lost out on their top target a day before the NFL’s trade deadline.
On November 3, the Philadelphia Eagles traded for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, sending the Miami Dolphins a 2026 third-round pick in return.
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears were considering making that very trade. “One source suggested the Bears have interest in Phillips, a first-round draft pick in 2021 who is playing on an expiring contract. Any team acquiring Phillips will have to pay the prorated remainder of his $13.251 base salary this season, so the Bears would have to create some salary cap room to bring him on board, something they could easily do,” Biggs wrote on November 3. Not even an hour later, the Eagles traded for Phillips.
“The price tag in Miami,” Biggs also noted, “was believed to be a third-round draft pick, maybe more, and a separate source said Saturday afternoon the Dolphins had at least one offer of a Round 3 pick in hand from another NFC club. It’s believed to be the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Chicago Bears May Have Missed Out on a Big Opportunity to Trade for Edge Jaelan Phillips
Carmen Mandato | Getty ImagesThe Philadelphia Eagles made a trade for edhe rusher Jaelan Phillips, who the Chicago Bears were reported to be eyeing.
Chicago has poured considerable money and draft capital into its defensive line — most notably Montez Sweat’s $98 million extension and the $48 million addition of Dayo Odeyingbo — but the results haven’t matched the investment, at least not yet.
The Bears are currently ranked 20th out of 32 teams in sacks, with 17 in seven games. Adding a player like Phillips, who at 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds is a smooth combination of length, speed and bend, would have very likely been an asset to Dennis Allen’s D-line. Phillips has 3.0 sacks and seven QB hits in nine starts so far this year, and he has a history of producing save for his 2024 campaign.
It’s also fair to suggest that if all it took was a third-rounder to move him, the Bears should have tried to nab him sooner. A future third-round pick is a modest price for a 26-year-old with 26 career sacks, especially when you consider that Phillips looks good after returning from an Achilles injury that ended his 2024 season early.
Bears May Still Make a Move Before Deadline, But the Talent Pool Is Smaller Now
There are legitimate reasons why Bears general manager Ryan Poles might have balked at a trade for Phillips. Phillips is playing on his fifth-year option, which, as Biggs noted, is worth just over $13 million. He’ll also be a free agent in March. Any team trading for him is effectively paying that number now with the expectation of either negotiating a long-term extension or taking a risk on a short-term rental.
With significant money already tied up in Sweat, Odeyingbo and interior linemen like Grady Jarrett, Chicago may not want to spent that much on another edge. The decision likely came down to risk tolerance — and in that, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles and Chicago are simply in different places. Plus, it doesn’t mean the Bears won’t still add edge help before the November 4 deadline hits.
“We’ll know soon if Poles has a deal cooking. The clock is ticking toward the deadline,” Biggs added.
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