Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons in Chicago? The Bears’ roadmap to assembling a generational defense

Over the last week, out-of-nowhere, franchise-altering deals have been a thing…at least in the NBA.

Those kind of shocking deals are a blast for pundits and fans alike, so it’s time for the NFL to hop on the big-time trade train. After all, there a couple of all-world defensive game-wreckers who might be there for the taking.

Myles Ahead

Myles Garrett has requested a trade.

His statement: pic.twitter.com/yx5Q9Exa0V
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2025

Cleveland DE Myles Garrett is in the process of kvetching his way out of Cleveland, but can you blame him? In his illustrious eight seasons with the Browns, he has a personal regular season win/loss record is 53-78-1, with a postseason tally of 1-2.

Not great for a guy who’s putting together a Hall of Fame resume to the tune of 102.5 career sacks (12.8 per-season average), six Pro Bowls, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and countless terrified starting quarterbacks.

Micah Check

Meanwhile down in Dallas, there are whispers a’plenty of a potential Micah Parsons trade (or two) something about which the 25-year-old former Nittany Lion doesn’t want to hear.

Micah Parsons responds to latest trade rumors:

'We're gonna figure out a way for me to be a Cowboy for life.'

(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/wCjxrA49dj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 16, 2024

But where there’s trade smoke, there’s often trade fire—and if you’re the Chicago Bears, you should follow the heat.

M&M = Midway Monsters?

It’s theoretically possible for the Bears to land both stars, an initiative that would not just pair two of this generation’s finest pass rushers, but put them in the same unit as All-Pro cornerback Jaylen Johnson, potentially resurgent EDGE Montez Sweat, and a solid group of linebackers led by Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.

Sure, it would cost the Bears a ton of draft capital and eat up a huge chunk of their $66 million of cap space. But if they can create the scariest defense the Windy City has seen since 1985, it’s certainly worth a discussion.

The Myles Trade

CHICAGO RECEIVES

DE Myles Garrett

CLEVELAND RECEIVES

DE Austin Booker

Chicago’s 2025 first round pick

Chicago’s 2025 second round pick

Chicago’s 2026 fourth round pick

If Cleveland pulls the trigger on this one, they’d have six picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, which would enable them to not just (sort of) fill Garrett’s shoes, but remake the entire franchise.

The Micah Trade

CHICAGO RECEIVES

LB/DE Micah Parsons

DALLAS RECEIVES

Chicago’s 2025 second round pick (via CAR)

Chicago’s 2026 first round pick

Chicago’s 2026 third round pick

This would set up the ’Boys for one helluva draft, as they’d own four of the top 76 picks. They might not find a Parsons, but they can fill plenty of gaping defensive holes.

The Financials

As noted, the Bears currently have $66 million to play with, a number that can increase to somewhere in the area of $80 million if they shed Cole Kmet’s contract.

Spotrac guesstimates Garrett’s market value at $34.3 million, while Parsons comes in at $30 million.

Inking both of them would leave Chicago with $10 million of cap space, give or take—which, while not optimal for filling their numerous holes, isn’t tragic, as that would leave them in a better financial position than 11 other teams.

#NFL Defenders who were traded for (at least) a 1st Rd Pick

Bradley Chubb (2022, age 26)
Jamal Adams (2020, age 25)
DeForest Buckner (2020, age 26)
Jalen Ramsey (2019, age 25)
Minkah Fitzpatrick (2019, age 23)
Frank Clark (2019, age 26)
Khalil Mack (2018, age 27)
Darrelle Revis…
— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 4, 2025

But if GM Ryan Poles has the creativity (and cojones) to build a competent offensive line on a shoestring budget, a Garrett-and-Parsons-led defense could drag Caleb Williams et al on a lengthy playoff run.