Hub Arkush: Deebo Samuel is terrific, but Bears shouldn’t wade into trade market

LAKE FOREST – My phone instantly lit up with tweets from all corners of Bears Nation on Wednesday after ESPN’s Jeff Darlington tweeted that Deebo Samuel had just told him he had asked the San Francisco 49ers for a trade.

Obviously, other than Darnell Mooney, the Bears don’t have a proven NFL receiver and their wideout room currently ranks somewhere between the worst or very close to it in the league.

Do they have to trade for Samuel? Should they? Will they?

[ Bears minicamp update: Roquan Smith says contract talks are ‘my business’ ]

First let’s broaden the landscape.

Samuel (26 years old), Tennessee’s A.J. Brown (25) and Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf (24) are proven No. 1 receivers entering their fourth seasons, and all hope and expect to receive contracts mirroring the megadeals signed recently by Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs, which were approximately four-year deals worth $25-$28 million a year with about $70 million guaranteed.

It isn’t lost on any of them that Adams and Hill had to get traded in order to get paid.

The cost of acquiring Adams from Green Bay – beyond the new contract – was the Raiders’ 22nd overall pick in this year’s draft along with the 53rd pick, while Hill cost the Dolphins a first-rounder (29th overall), second (50th) and fourth (121st) this year along with fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2023.

What makes Samuel coming off his first All-Pro campaign particularly intriguing is he is that ever-so-rare player who can completely change an offense and create matchup nightmares for opposing defenses; however, it is also worth noting Samuel (36th overall), Brown (51st) and Metcalf (64th) were second-round picks, as was Adams (53rd), and Hill was drafted in the fifth round (165th).

So, if you want the Bears to step up and join the checkout line at the Ferrari dealership, ask yourself first: What are the similarities or differences between them and the Raiders and Dolphins?

Las Vegas and Miami made their deals because they believe Adams and Hill are the key ingredients to make a Super Bowl run.

On the other hand, since the Bears’ entire rebuilding plan revolves around Justin Fields becoming a franchise quarterback, and he presently has nowhere near enough weapons at wideout to help him develop, are you obligated to go buy him some?

I put the question to Bears coach Matt Eberflus after Wednesday’s second day of minicamp at Halas Hall.

“Well, we’re always looking for more players. That’s the NFL,” Eberflus said. “Let’s add starters to our starting lineups if we can with those first two or three picks, for sure.

“And then, you’re always trying to acquire great players, guys who can help us. To your point, we’re trying to do that at every position.”

At the end of the day, the answer to this one is a resounding no.

The Bears absolutely should not be thinking about trading for Samuel or anyone else right now unless general manager Ryan Poles decides to light his rebuilding plan on fire.

Neither Deebo, Brown, Metcalf nor Jerry Rice in his prime could make this team a contender, and what was the point of dealing Khalil Mack for less than he was worth just to turn around and spend all that cap savings on only one other player?

Why is Samuel asking for a trade? And based on that answer, what kind of impact would he have in any new locker room he landed in?

The 49ers don’t have to deal him, knowing they can control him for at least three, even four more years, with franchise tags that won’t cost them much more than a new contract anyway, so why would they trade him unless someone wants to overpay?

You see where all these guys were originally drafted. Poles has not one but two second-round picks along with his third and two fifths in a wide receiver-rich draft.

If it were 2018 all over again, a Samuel trade could make sense, just as the Mack trade that came with a similar price tag did then.

But it’s 2022, and everything Poles is trying to do is to buy back the Bears’ future that appeared nonexistent when he arrived. It’s why he’s here.

Mortgaging that future again after he’s sent the majority of his front-line talent out of town for any receiver, even Samuel, makes absolutely no sense at all.

Just show us your draft chops and get the next great second-round pass catcher at 38th or 49th overall, and let the Packers, Chiefs, Patriots, Ravens or some other receiver-hungry contender overpay for Deebo.