Bears GM Ryan Poles says Montez Sweat will ‘allow everyone to play better’

LAKE FOREST – Throughout the Washington Commanders’ team walkthrough on Tuesday, Montez Sweat kept his phone in his pocket. The 27-year-old defensive end couldn’t help it. With rumors swirling as the 3 p.m. trade deadline neared, he needed to keep it close in case his agent called.

He was at the team facility when the call did come.

“It was a lot of emotions,” Sweat said. “I mean, I was in Washington for maybe four or five years. I developed some strong relationships there that will last.”

The Bears traded for Sweat on Tuesday, sending their 2024 second-round draft pick to Washington in exchange for one of the top available pass rushers. Sweat had been with Washington since the Commanders drafted him with a first-round pick in 2019.

Why were the Bears – a 2-6 team – buying at the trade deadline? It’s pretty simple from general manager Ryan Poles’ perspective. He saw an opportunity to acquire a talented player who likely wouldn’t have hit free agency next spring. Poles wasn’t going to risk waiting until free agency in March when other teams were making a strong push for Sweat’s services now.

“It’s capitalizing right now because you start to lose opportunities,” Poles said. “If you look at the free agent [options] now, it’s going to look very different by the time you get to that point of the year because there are so many different opportunities that can pop up in terms of extensions and tags.”

The Bears and Sweat are already working out a contract extension. Sweat’s current contract ends after this season, but the Bears wouldn’t have traded for him if they didn’t think they could sign him to a long-term deal.

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Bears signed him to a new deal in the next few days. Players usually prefer to get their money as soon as possible. It also wouldn’t be a huge surprise if both parties took a few weeks to get to know each other a little bit first.

“All that goes into play, from financial to the people around me to the players in the building, all that type of stuff,” Sweat said Wednesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “As I said, I just got here. I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going to lay my head at night.”

Fans can criticize Poles for the trade if they want – a second-round pick is a premium selection in the draft – but the Bears probably became a better defense, at least in the short term. Their pass rush is one of the worst in the league, statistically, and Sweat should improve it.

“We’ve got an outside pass rusher that’s long, that’s lean, has production, and we’re certainly excited about that,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “Everybody in the building is excited about it. You can feel the buzz in there when I introduced him to the team.”

A good pass rusher like Sweat should help every level of the defense. The Bears have been unable to generate much pressure when they’re not blitzing. A quicker pass rush also means the defensive backs don’t have to guard receivers for quite so long.

“Whenever you add a good football player to your team, no matter what position, I think you improve your team,” defensive passing game coordinator Jon Hoke said. “He’ll have an impact because he is a pass rusher and he’s very good at it, obviously. He’ll have an impact. He’ll speed the quarterback up as much as anything else.”

The Bears now have three veteran defensive ends who they think can be major contributors. Sweat joins a rotation that includes Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker, who were previously in the starting lineup.

Walker will never forget the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, when Sweat set a then-record for edge rushers with a 4.41-second mark in the 40-yard dash. While Sweat might take away snaps from some of his new teammates, Walker views that as a good competition.

“You can’t have enough weapons, especially at the defensive line position,” Walker said. “I mean, I’m definitely happy to have him. He’s good talent.”

You can’t have enough weapons, especially at the defensive line position. I mean, I’m definitely happy to have him come. He’s good talent.”

—  DeMarcus Walker, Bears defensive end

Bears right tackle Darnell Wright faced off against Sweat during an Oct. 5 game against the Commanders. The thing he noticed most was Sweat’s length.

Sweat is 6-foot-6 with 35 3/4-long arms. That lines up with exactly what Poles and Eberflus have said all along that they want in both their offensive tackles and their edge rushers.

“We see him as a long, fast, explosive, relentless defensive end that can help us both in the run and in the pass game and really, I see him as a multiplier,” Poles said. “He’s going to allow everyone to play better.”