Bears give up two picks for 5-time Pro Bowl CB in trade proposal

The Chicago Bears made massive improvement in 2025 with Ben Johnson leading the team in his first year as head coach. 

The Bears — largely due to Johnson’s ability to create mismatches for opposing defenses and build an offense focused on the strengths of his quarterback —finished the regular season with an (111-6) record which was good enough to win the NFC North and make the playoffs. 

After knocking off the Packers in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs, the Bears’ season came to an end in a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Rams at home

While Caleb Williams took a massive step forward and young weapons like Luther Burden and Colstion Loveland emerged, the Bears have to play significantly better on defense if they want to legitimately compete for a Super Bowl in 2026. 

Chicago finished with the No. 29 overall defense in the NFL last season, allowing 361.8 yards per game in the regular season and more than 380 yards in the playoffs. 

The Bears made a few decisions this offseason that seemed questionable, letting Tremaine Edmunds, Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard walk out the door and sign new contracts with other teams. Those three players have been staples on the Bears defense the past few years — and while there’s an argument to be made that Chicago replaced Brisker and Edmunds with younger more versatile players in free agency — the Byard move is hard to grasp. 

The veteran safety earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl finishing the year with 93 combined tackles (61 solo), eight pass deflections, and a league-leading seven interceptions. He started all 17 games and instead of inking him to a simple, team-friendly deal, the Bears brass let Byard sign with the Patriots for a one-year deal worth just $9 million. 

Chicago has made a few splashes on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, though. The biggest move was signing safety Coby Bryant from the Seahawks to a 3-year deal worth $40 million. They also gave a nice chunk of change to LB Devin Bush on a 3-year-deal while adding rotational pieces like DT Neville Gallimore and CB Cam Lewis. 

Chicago Bears predicted to trade two draft picks for Cleveland Browns CB Denzel Ward

The Bears feel like they are one or two players away from going from one of the worst defenses in the league last year to having a formidable unit in 2026. 

Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports predicts the Bears will make a trade ahead of the draft to acquire CB Denzel Ward from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick (89th) and 2027 sixth-round pick.

They need help all over their defense, including at edge rusher. But upgrading at cornerback might be the Bears' biggest priority. Ward is a five-time Pro Bowler who is still only 29, and the Browns would be smart to dump the remaining two years of his contract to free up some salary cap space. Ward could either be Chicago's third corner or step in for the erratic Tyrique Stevenson. It would also free up the Bears to target a defensive lineman early in the draft. And with two second-round picks, they’ve got the Day 2 ammunition to get him.

Ward is still only 28 years old and has consistently proven himself as one of the elite cornerbacks in the game. If the Bears can pull this off, they could have a chance at the Lombardi Trophy to close out 2026.