The Chicago Bears could be active once again at the NFL trade deadline in 2024 as they explore ways to improve their roster around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams — and the Indianapolis Colts might have someone to offer them.
CBS Sports analyst Cody Benjamin recently pitched one deal “each team should make” before the league’s November 5 trade deadline and proposed the Bears should pursue Colts starting right tackle Braden Smith to fortify their trenches in front of Williams.
Smith has started 85 career games for the Colts and developed into one of their most dependable offensive linemen. He earned the second-highest run-blocking grade (90.1) from Pro Football Focus in 2023 despite injuries limiting him to just 10 games and can also play either guard or tackle — which is positional versatility the Bears would value.
While Smith is still playing at a high level, though, the Colts are in the midst of a rebuild and could explore offloading the remainder of his $70 million contract to another team if they lose their next two games and fall to 3-5 on the season before the deadline. Smith is still owed roughly $7.56 million in salary coming out of Week 6 and will see his salary increase to $14.75 million for the 2025 season — albeit, with no guaranteed money.
“Caleb Williams is making strides, but it’d help if his offensive front was sturdier,” Benjamin wrote in his October 9 article. “Smith has been a solid starter for Indy for a while, but his contract makes him expendable for a rebuilding club.”
Braden Smith Might Cost Too Much for Bears Trade
Smith is an intriguing potential trade option for the Bears to consider because of the stability he could bring to their offensive line, but it might cost them too much to ever become a legitimate possibility — even if the Colts shop him around at the deadline.
For starters, the Bears would have difficulty fitting Smith’s contract on their books with only about $6.96 million in cap space. They could technically make it work if they did not trade for him until after he cashed two more game checks with the Colts, but it would limit their spending flexibility for the second half of the 2024 season.
The Colts would also presumably want at least a high Day 3 draft pick in exchange, and Chicago does not currently have one to give. The Bears could still end up with a fourth-round pick in 2025 if Justin Fields remains the starter in Pittsburgh long enough to play 51% of snaps (therefore meeting the trade conditions to upgrade the pick from a sixth to a fourth), but they may not want to use it to acquire a 28-year-old lineman.
That said, the Bears traded a 2024 fifth-round pick to Buffalo in the offseason for Ryan Bates, intending to make him their new starting center. If they believe Smith can give them an answer at right guard in 2024 and beyond, it could justify a heftier price tag.
Bears Offensive Line Has Improved in Recent Weeks
The Bears’ offensive line caught quite a bit of (deserved) flack over the first few weeks of the 2024 season for failing to protect Williams and create openings for the run game, but they have steadily improved along with their rookie quarterback in recent weeks.
After allowing seven sacks in Week 2, the Bears have given up just 11 sacks total in their four games since, including a season-low one against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5. The Bears have also been much more effective in the run game in no small part due to their offensive line’s turnaround, rushing for more than 125 yards in each of their last three games with a season-high 152 rushing yards in Week 6’s win over Jacksonville.
Additionally, the Bears could have an even healthier offensive line when they emerge from their bye week in Week 7. Both Bates and offensive tackle Larry Borom are eligible to return to practice from the injured reserve list whenever the Bears are satisfied with their respective injury recoveries. Once they do, the Bears will have significantly more depth for their trenches as they move into the second half of the 2024 season.
A trade could still happen, but don’t expect the Bears to get overzealous.
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