Proposed Chicago Bears 2026 NFL Draft Trade Could Happen After Offseason Re-Signing

An analyst has proposed a 2026 NFL Draft trade for the Chicago Bears that has life after the team made one specific re-signing this offseason.

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent has been the subject of trade talk this offseason and one analyst believes it's possible the young signal-caller could get moved during the 2026 NFL Draft.

USA TODAY's Jack McKessy has floated Bagent as a trade candidate in an article listing one player for each team who could get dealt during the NFL Draft later this month.

"Bagent, the Bears' backup quarterback, was the subject of trade rumors during the NFL combine in February, during which Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he believes Bagent is a top-32 quarterback in the NFL," McKessy writes. "If another team feels the same way, the former undrafted free agent could be on the move come draft night."

Revisiting Tyson Bagent trade rumors

Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Bagent was mentioned as a possible trade target for the Arizona Cardinals earlier this offseason, which made sense because Arizona doesn't have a long-term answer under center.

However, the Cardinals have since signed quarterback Gardner Minshew, who is going to back up expected starter Jacoby Brissett, likely canceling Arizona out of a trade for Bagent.

Amid trade talk surrounding Bagent, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported Chicago would want a second-round pick for him.

"The Bears have clearly made it known that if you're going to call on him, they love him,” Biggs said. “Which is telling you the price isn't going to be real low. I would think it would have to be a 2nd-round pick."

If the Bears were able to get a second-round pick for Bagent, they should not hesitate to pull the trigger. That said, it feels like a pipe dream for Chicago given the fact that Bagent remains unproven.

Bears received trade calls on Bagent

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | David Banks-Imagn Images

General manager Ryan Poles admitted during the NFL Scouting Combine that the Bears have gotten calls on Bagent, and he did not rule out trading the young quarterback, either.

“We’ve gotten a few calls there,” Poles said of Bagent. “Obviously the tough thing is what Ben [Johnson] thinks about Tyson, what I think about Tyson, what our locker room thinks about Tyson.

"That’s a really tough decision for us. But, for Tyson as well, I think he would have an opportunity to go and perform for a team and do some really good things.”

Was Case Keenum re-signing a hint?

Chicago Bears quarterback Case Keenum. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Lest we forget, the Bears re-signed Case Keenum, who was inked to a two-year, $5.5 million contract that has a max value of $8 million. At the time, the move was definitely a head-scratcher.

After all, if the Bears believe in Bagent as much as Poles says they do, there wasn't really a need to add Keenum, which was overkill in this day and age when teams usually only carry two quarterbacks.

Based on how high Poles and Johnson are on Bagent, the only explanation is the Bears are going to move him at some point.

The biggest concern with trading Bagent is that he might be the better of the two signal-callers and Chicago should not be in the business of downgrading its quarterbacks room ahead of a season in which the team has Super Bowl apirations.

That's because one injury to Caleb Williams that has him miss even a few games could derail the entire season if the Bears' backup solution isn't good enough.

Perhaps the Bears will wait until training camp to see how the backup quarterback competition shakes out between Bagent and Keenum and go from there. But if Bagent loses that competition, his stock will be significantly lower than it is now.