Should Bears Make a Trade?
Should the Bears make a last-minute trade?
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Chris Chambers talks with Tony Dungy.
What's more common? Terrell Owens catching a pass? Or a significant NFL trade going down? Any other year, that answer is all T.O. But in 2009, after the Jets dealt for Braylon Edwards and the Bears picked up Gaines Adams from the Buccaneers, the dynamic is slightly different.
This means that while it's unlikely the Bears will be looking to make another deal by today's 4 p.m. EST deadline -- which as of this writing is quickly approaching us -- it's possible. Why not, right? They've done it once before.
Thing is, there aren't too many players the Bears might be actively interested in who are also willing to take a trade. You can throw out most of the league; NFL GMs don't really open their minds to trading otherwise happy players very often. There is, however, a list of players with open grievances, and on that list is one Mr. Chris Chambers, wide receiver from the San Diego Chargers.
Maybe this is silly of us. After all, the Bears wideouts are progressing rather nicely in their first year with Jay Cutler, and adding a new receiver to the mix could make offensive uncertainty even more of a problem. (We saw enough of it Sunday night, didn't we?)
But Chambers has a few positives.
One: He's an unrestricted free agent after this season, meaning the Bears aren't on the hook for his contract if he doesn't work out. Not to mention Chambers has every motivation to play hard in his short stint with the Bears, in order to earn that new contract this winter.
Two: Chambers is a big-play, jump-ball kind of receiver, the kind of deep threat Cutler doesn't really have among his current wideouts. Having a guy who can win those crucial fade pattern jump balls in the corner of the end zone -- someone's who not named Greg Olsen, that is -- would be a major boon for Cutler's productivity.
It isn't likely, but it's a thought, The Bears young wideouts are looking good. If Chris Chambers can be got as cheaply as Gaines Adams -- and he shouldn't even require a second-round pick -- why not make them temporarily, inarguably better? It'sso not-crazy it just might work.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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Posted Tuesday, Oct 20, 2009 - 1:32 PM CST
