Bears trade proposal lands Bengals projected $62 million All-Pro in Chicago

The Chicago Bears' defensive line will have some new faces in 2025. The team added Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo through free agency this offseason and also acquired Shemar Turner during the second round of the draft.

Though the Bears have spent a ton of resources on the trenches over the last few months, The Draft Network's Justin Melo believes Chicago should make an aggressive move and trade for Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

"Other offseason acquisitions include Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. On the defensive line, Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo were added to help support Montez Sweat. Odeyingbo is a stellar three-down defensive end, but the aggressive Bears would really elevate the d-line by pairing Sweat with Hendrickson. Trading for Hendrickson would serve as the cherry on top of what's been an outstanding offseason," Melo wrote.

Hendrickson's future with the Bengals has never looked more bleak. The All-Pro defender recently called out Cincinnati for cutting off communication during the contract process, and stated during an interview at Bengals offseason workouts on Tuesday that he won't play under his current deal in 2025.

"No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft," Hendrickson said in a statement to ESPN on Monday. "The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are aware of these past conversations. Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, THEY are no longer communicating. I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that's hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals."

At some point, the Bengals will have to trade Hendrickson if a deal can't be agreed to. If this occurs, the Bears should aggressively pursue the 30-year-old. Hendrickson would elevate Chicago's defense to another level and could be the missing piece that turns Chicago into a playoff contender.

Hendrickson has arguably been the best pass rusher in football over the last two seasons, totaling 17.5 sacks in 2023 and 2024 and coming second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year behind Denver Broncos standout corner Patrick Surtain II. Pairing Montez Sweat with the Hendrickson would be electric and give opposing quarterbacks nightmares before playing the Bears.