Chicago Bears Listed Among Top Trade Destinations for $87.5 Million Superstar

The Chicago Bears entered the offseason with a major need along the interior of their defensive line, but so far general manager Ryan Poles hasn't addressed that need.

The Bears struggled mightily against the run in 2025 to the tune of giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per contest. Chicago could also use more pass-rush juice on the interior, as Gervon Dexter was Chicago's only player at the position to tally more than 1.5 sacks.

On Monday, a new and exciting potential option popped up, with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting Dexter Lawrence has asked the New York Giants for a trade. Lawrence's reason behind the request has to do with multiple years of the two sides being unable to work out a new deal.

In the immediate aftermath of that report, we went right to work proposing a trade scenario for the Bears because Lawrence would be a perfect for Chicago. Not only has Lawrence been an elite run defender in the past, but he has 7.5- and nine-sack seasons under his belt, so he checks multiple boxes for Chicago.

Bears named among top landing spots for Lawrence

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. — New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Bleacher Report's Moe Moton has weighed-in on the best landing spots for Lawrence and he listed the Bears as one of them. Moton proposes a trade that would see the Bears sending the Giants two 2026 picks, one in the second round and one in the fourth round.

"Between Lawrence and Dexter, the Bears would have over 650 pounds of manpower on the interior of their defensive front," he said. "Chicago's run defense could improve from 27th in yards allowed to one of the league's most stout units with that big-man combination at defensive tackle."

That is actually a realistic proposal from Moton, as SNY's Connor Hughes reported some around the NFL believe a package with a second-round pick and a fifth-round selection could be enough for Lawrence. ESPN's Jordan Raanan has even said some teams believe just a second-round pick would get it done, although some put Lawrence's value at a late first, also.

What happened to Lawrence in 2025?

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II speaks at a press conference during day one of training camp. — New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you look at Lawrence's stat sheet and Pro Football Focus grades from last season, none of it screams "elite player."

Lawrence's sack production (0.5) fell off a cliff and he posted half the amount of tackles for loss (four) as he did in 2024. The former first-round pick also posted his worst PFF run defense grade (57.0) since 2021, but his pass-rush grade (84.5) was still elite.

There could be multiple explanations for that drop-off. For starters, there was a belief that Lawrence's work ethic wasn't great and he wasn't in good shape, either, per Hughes. Then, there's the issue with the Giants being a dysfunctional mess, which could have led to Lawrence simply mailing it in more often than not.

Those are all red flags, of course, but it stands to reason that the three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro will bounce back with a change of scenery.

With their need on the inside, and with the team having Super Bowl aspirations in 2026, the Bears should be more than willing to find out if that is the case.