It sounds like the Chicago Bears could be active at the NFL trade deadline for a third consecutive season in 2024 — though as sellers, not buyers.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bears are exploring their trade options with benched veteran guard Nate Davis and third-year pass rusher Dominique Robinson ahead of the league’s 2024 trade deadline at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on November 5.
Davis signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Bears in 2023 free agency, but he has gone from starting right guard to a liability the team refuses to put on the field less than halfway through his deal. The Bears benched Davis from their lineup in favor of veteran Matt Pryor in Week 3, then left him inactive for Week 6’s game in London.
Fowler wrote trading Davis would require the Bears to cover some of his $8.75 million salary for the season, but he added his “sense is the Bears are comfortable with that.”
Meanwhile, Robinson — a 2022 fifth-round pick — has been unable to crack the Bears’ pass-rushing rotation behind defensive ends Montez Sweat, Darrell Taylor, DeMarcus Walker and fourth-round rookie Austin Booker. The Bears also have Jacob Martin close to coming off the injured reserve list, prompting them to explore trades for Robinson.
“The Bears are also weighing trade options with pass rusher Dominique Robinson, who could use a fresh start elsewhere,” Fowler wrote on October 23. “Teams such as the Cowboys, Cardinals and Commanders are short-handed at pass rusher.”
Trading Nate Davis or Dominique Robinson Would Be Wise
The Bears’ interest in moving Davis and Robinson should not come as a surprise given their roles — or lack thereof — with the team, but it should also excite the fan base.
The experiment with Davis has long run its course. The Bears signed him thinking he would be a quality veteran who could help strengthen their interior offensive line, but his practice habits, injury issues and lackluster play have forced the team to bury him on the depth chart. Chicago is so unwilling to put Davis on the field that it made him a healthy scratch in Week 6’s win, turning to inexperienced backup Bill Murray instead.
As for Robinson, he has still not played a single snap for the Bears in 2024. While he showed improvement as a pass rusher during this past summer’s training camp, the team has left him inactive on game days in favor of the aforementioned rotation along with Daniel Hardy, who has played 127 special-teams snaps over the first six games.
At this rate, the Bears will cut both Davis and Robinson when they reach the offseason — or perhaps even sooner — so it would be advantageous for them to attempt to find a trade partner for either/both of them. Even if an acquiring team is only willing to give the Bears a late Day 3 selection, something is better than nothing for both players.
Khalil Herbert ‘Should Receive Interest’ on Trade Market
Fowler also made mention of one other potential trade candidate for the Bears: running back Khalil Herbert, who has fallen out of the rotation through the first seven weeks.
Herbert has rushed for 1,791 yards and nine touchdowns and caught another 45 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns over his first 48 games with the Bears, but the 2021 sixth-round pick has generated just 20 scrimmage yards through the first six games of the 2024 season. He has also not touched the ball on offense since Week 3’s loss.
Instead, the Bears have found success in recent weeks leaning on veteran D’Andre Swift and 2023 fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson as their primary tandem. After averaging about 72.6 yards per game through the first three weeks, the team has rushed for more than 125 yards in each of their last three games with an emphasis on Swift and Johnson.
With other teams around the league in need of fresh running back talent, Fowler wrote that Herbert “should receive interest” ahead of next month’s NFL trade deadline. The Bears should feel better about weighing their options with Herbert after designating backup running back Travis Homer for return from injured reserve on October 23.
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