Bears Twitter freaks out over Ed Oliver trade rumors originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Are the Bills trading Ed Oliver to the Bears? That was the Rumor Of The Day on Twitter on Wednesday, after Oliver posted pictures and videos of himself sacking Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins and Jared Goff on his Instagram stories with the caption “enjoyed myself.”
People immediately noticed that Oliver left out Justin Fields and the Bears, and thought the star defensive tackle was sending a message that a deal could be announced soon since he used the beginning of the song “Feds Watching” by 2 Chainz in the background. The lyrics Oliver chose for his Insta story simply repeat, “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
There has been speculation that Oliver is unhappy with contract negotiations with the Bills. He’s set to play on the last year of his rookie deal this year. That’s led some to believe whether he wants to be dealt to a team that’s more willing to give him a big contract, and whether the Bears may be that team. But Exhibit A of the “Bears trading for Oliver” caseー Oliver leaving the Bears out of his Insta storiesー was soon dashed. Hours after posting the pictures and videos of his Vikings, Packers and Lions sacks, Oliver added a video of his Justin Fields sack from last season.
The Bills drafted Oliver with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 draft, but he hasn’t played up to the expectations that come with being a top-10 pick. In four seasons, Oliver has only amassed 14.5 sacks, 30 TFLs and four forced fumbles. According to PFF, he’s only pressured the quarterback 153 times in his career, with 103 stops. One would imagine the Bears want more production than that if they were to trade for a player.
Ryan Poles is no stranger to big trades, however. He made the biggest trade of 2023 by shipping the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers in exchange for D.J. Moore and a slew of additional draft picks. He kicked off his Bears GM tenure by trading away Khalil Mack, then followed that up by trading away Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn midseason, in addition to acquiring Chase Claypool.
