Despite having just two wins leading up to the 2023 NFL trade deadline, the Chicago Bears elected to be buyers instead of sellers. Rather than trading away established veterans in exchange for valuable assets during a lost season, the Bears decided it would be better to give away valuable assets in exchange for a proven commodity when they traded a second-round pick to acquire defensive end Montez Sweat from the Washington Commanders.
It was a very polarizing trade that has led to many debating whether or not the Bears made the right move by giving up what has the makings of a top-35 draft pick for a player on an expiring contract. However, some of those qualms were put to bed when the Bears and Sweat agreed to a four-year, $98 million contract extension shortly after being dealt to Chicago.
One person who is adamant that the Bears made a mistake by trading for Sweat was former NFL general manager Mike Lombardi, who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show after the trade occurred, making his thoughts about the transaction abundantly clear. “I think that was the dumbest trade you could possibly make,” Lombardi said.
ESPN Chicago’s David Kaplan strongly disagrees with Lombardi’s sentiment and had some choice words for Lombardi in defense of the Bears’ acquisition of Sweat, citing the immediate impact he made in his Bears debut in Week 10 when he recorded eight pressures, the most a Bears player has had in a single game since Robert Quinn accomplished the feat in 2020.
“… he’s great against the run, he’s top five in the league at his position against the run, top five in the NFL against pressures…” Kaplan stated. “So whatever this thick-headed idiot named Mike Lombardi continues to say, he shows you each day that he’s dumber than the day before,” Kaplan added.
