The Chicago Bears are planning to make improving their offensive and defensive lines their top priorities during the 2025 NFL offseason, but they will also need to seek out additional playmakers for quarterback Caleb Williams on offense.
Luckily enough, the Las Vegas Raiders just put a promising one on the NFL trade block.
According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed, the Raiders have been shopping tight end Michael Mayer — the No. 35 pick in the 2023 NFL draft — on the trade market and are “open to other trade discussions” with the new league year to begin next week.
The Raiders believed Mayer could have a potent impact on their offense when they took him in the second round in 2023, but he underachieved as a rookie with just 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Las Vegas then pushed Mayer into a limited role in 2024 after landing a generational talent in Brock Bowers, who became the top target.
“Mayer will be on a team-friendly rookie contract for two more seasons and there are several teams who thought highly of him as a prospect,” Tafur and Reed wrote Friday. “With Bowers in tow, it could make more sense for the Raiders to trade Mayer for assets rather than having him locked into a relatively small role.”
It could also make sense for the Bears — who need more pass-catchers — to appeal to the Raiders’ new sense of direction and take a chance on Mayer for a reasonable price.
Bears Could Trade for Michael Mayer With Low Risk
The Bears may already have their starting tight end in Cole Kmet for the 2025 season, but that does not mean they don’t have needs to address at the position this offseason.
In February, the Bears released veteran tight end Gerald Everett from their roster after he brought minimal production to their offense in 2024. The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs also noted in his recent column that “signs are they’ll look to the draft” to add depth behind Kmet. Mayer’s sudden availability creates another avenue, though.
With that in mind, Heavy.com has crafted a hypothetical trade pitch that would make sense for both Chicago and Las Vegas if the latter means to move Mayer elsewhere.
The trade pitch: The Bears would send a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick (that could become a fifth-rounder if Mayer meets performance benchmarks in Chicago) to the Raiders in exchange for Mayer and the two years left on his $9.3 million rookie deal.
Trading for Mayer would not require much of a financial commitment from the Bears. He is scheduled to have cap hits of $2.54 million and $2.96 million respectively in each of the next two seasons. For perspective, the Bears created $5.5 million in cap savings with Everett’s release, so it is chump change for a potentially impactful playmaker.
The real question is: Do the Bears think highly enough of Mayer’s upside?
Mayer did not take a top-30 visit with the Bears in 2023, but new head coach Ben Johnson heavily deployed tight ends in his Detroit Lions offense and hired a former tight ends coach, Declan Doyle, to serve as his offensive coordinator in Chicago.
If they believe Mayer has untapped potential, the Bears may indulge them with a trade.
Bears Can Bolster Position Without Michael Mayer
Michael Mayer’s availability should intrigue the Bears. While his NFL production has not lived up to his pre-draft hype, he has also not experienced consistent quarterback play in his two seasons with the Raiders. And with a new front office in town, perhaps the Bears can roll the dice on Mayer for a low-risk, low-cost price — as suggested above.
If the Bears don’t consider Mayer the right fit for them, though, they will have options in both free agency and the draft to further supplement the position behind Kmet.
No heavy-hitters are coming available in free agency, but the Bears may find a veteran pass-catcher who suits their needs. New Orleans’ Juwan Johnson might make the best fit for them given he has averaged 11.0 yards per reception on 129 catches over the past three seasons and scored 14 touchdowns. Doyle also worked with him as an offensive assistant for the Saints from 2020 to 2022, giving him a direct tie to Chicago’s staff.
The draft, however, remains the best option for the Bears to bolster the position.
Several tight ends upped their stock with strong performances at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, including LSU’s Mason Taylor, Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson and Texas’ Gunner Helm. Ferguson and Helm both confirmed they met with the Bears at the combine, too, giving credence to the possibility of them drafting at tight end.
However they proceed, the ball will start rolling for the Bears when the NFL’s legal tampering period for free-agent negotiations begins at noon E.T. on March 10.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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