NFL Analyst's Bizarre Trade Proposal is the Wrong Fix for the Bears

The Chicago Bears thrilled their fans and the NFL world with an unexpected playoff run in 2025, one that ended with a heartbreaking Divisional round loss to the L.A. Rams. But last year is over, and the Bears will be expected to take another step forward in 2026, which would likely mean getting to the NFC Championship game.

Questions remain about whether general manager Ryan Poles improved the roster enough to get to that level. The Bears had been linked to a possible blockbuster deal for defensive end Maxx Crosby early in the offseason, but that never came to fruition. Now, with training camp in full swing, one NFL analyst has another blockbuster trade proposal that would bring the Bears an All-Pro playmaker: Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.

Bijan Robinson would supercharge Ben Johnson's offense

Speaking on Colin Cowherd's The Herd show, NFL analyst Jason McIntyre proposed that the Falcons trade star running back Bijan Robinson, following the model of the Carolina Panthers when they dealt their own star running back, Christian McCaffrey. As for which team would be the best fit for Robinson, McIntyre suggested the Chicago Bears.

"Do we give [the Bears'] run game jet fuel in the form of Bijan Robinson?" McIntyre asked, speaking as if he were the Bears' head coach. "Do we go out and make a splashy move, and do what the Rams do? Forget them picks, we're all in... We add Bijan Robinson to Caleb Williams, and it might be game over in the NFC North. That team would be a juggernaut."

From a purely on-field standpoint, McIntyre isn't wrong. Bijan Robinson would supercharge this Bears offense and likely make them the No. 1 offense in the league in several categories. You think the Bears' run game was good last year? Imagine what it would look like if Bijan Robinson could run behind the kind of pancake blocks served up by Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright.

A running back room headlined by Bijan Robinson, with Kyle Monangai likely playing backup, would be one of the best in Bears' history, at least since the Walter Payton era. It would make the Bears' passing game even more potent, too.

The Bears could use a blockbuster trade, but not for a running back

Chicago Bears RB D'Andre Swift runs with the ball against the Green Bay Packers. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As fun as that is to imagine, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Bears. For one, there's only so much better their run game can be. They finished third in the NFL last year with 144.5 rushing yards per game, and they did that with just D'Andre Swift, playing on an $8 million per year contract, and rookie Kyle Monangai. No disrespect intended to either player, but neither Swift nor Monangai is quite like a Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley.

That leads me to my second point: the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze from this trade. Trading for Robinson would likely cost the Bears two first-round picks, according to McIntyre, and we already know that that's a non-starter for Ryan Poles and the Bears. That's the price that the Baltimore Ravens offered the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby before they backed out of the trade.

Remember, Ryan Poles was indeed interested in trading for Crosby, but he apparently balked at trading two first-round picks for him. Robinson is a fantastic player, and I'm not saying that he wouldn't be worth a pair of high picks for the right team, but that deal doesn't make sense for where this Bears team is at, nor would it be something that Poles would likely do.

The Bottom Line

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Count me among the crowd of people who believe that the Bears are at least one star player away from seriously competing for a Super Bowl, but I really don't think the offense needs any more help. If Caleb Williams takes the kind of Year 3 leap that many are expecting, he'll be the same kind of force multiplier at quarterback that Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are for their teams.

If the Bears were going to swing a blockbuster deal, I'd hope it would be for a defensive lineman, like this trade proposal for Pro Bowl edge rusher Josh Sweat. That position group is where the Bears need to see major progress from last year, and if the Bears are to fall short of expectations in 2026, it will likely be due to an insufficient pass rush.

Bijan Robinson is going to have a very long and storied career, but if there's a next chapter to it outside of Atlanta, it shouldn't be in Chicago.

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