Bear Digest

What Trading Away Key Defensive Player Would Do to Bears Front Line

Reported trade inquiries about Gervon Dexter could only have one impact on a team looking for answers along the line of scrimmage on defense.
Gene Chamberlain|
Gervon Dexter has a great deal of room to improve, but trading him now would leave the Bears with no younger impact interior line defenders.
Gervon Dexter has a great deal of room to improve, but trading him now would leave the Bears with no younger impact interior line defenders. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears come to the scouting combine this week with a close eye on Thursday's workouts for defensive linemen on linebackers.

They apparently will need both, once linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is no longer on the roster.

Yet, it seems one of their most productive players on the defensive line is drawing  trade interest. According to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, they have received inquiries about trading defensive tackle Gervon Dexter.

If there is a year Dexter would be traded, it is this one. He is entering a contract year and and before March of 2027 the Bears would either need to sign him to an extension or let him leave in free agency.

Dexter has not been a superstar by any means, but his sack total has increased every season. He has 62 total pressures in three seasons, according to Stathead and Pro Football Reference. His tackles total dropped from 51 to 44 last season, but he did have a career-high six tackles for loss despite some poor run defense according to analysts. His six sacks last year were 2 1/2 more than the rest of their other four defensive tackles combined.

The pass rush has been Dexter's strength, but he has been a  drawback in stopping the run according to Pro Football Focus. Last season PFF graded Dexter 20th out of 134 interior defensive linemen at rushing the passer. However, he was only the 72nd best defensive tackle overall among those 134 because he was graded 107th at stopping the run.

The stupidity of trading Gervon Dexter

Despite Dexter's inability to dominate all around, his pass rush ability makes him a player they absolutely need for this season. Overall, he was their most productive defensive tackle and they have two other defensive tackle losses to free agency coming in Andrew Billings and Chris Williams, so they can least afford to lose Dexter.

Their other defensive tackle is Grady Jarrett, whose age and injury past are always concerns. They also have Shemar Turner, who is coming off knee surgery and played better at end than at tackle.

Any problems Dexter might have rushing the passer pale in comparison to his problems stopping the run. Last year defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said that Dexter and all defensive linemen needed to improve a "transition rushes." He meant they needed to quickly go from run-stopping mode to rusing the passer.

Their new scheme last year created this issue because in the past their jobs had only been to get into a gap and attack.

Now they need to attack the blocker first rather than a gap.

“We want to strike blocks,” is how defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett put it. “We want to attack up front. We want to knock guys back. That's our mentality style, that we want to be with. We want to disrupt the timing of the running back and quarterback. That's really our goal and what we want to put on tape."

It's here where Dexter can improve most, but removing a defensive tackle they've invested three seasons in, who has shown flashes, when they're already both weak and shorthanded at the defensive tackle position seems like the last thing the Bears should consider.

It would be like trading away D'Andre Swift when they have other back with speed to replace him. He might be a liability as a run defender but he was graded the second-best pass rusher on their defensive line, just behind edge Montez Sweat.

Trading away your youngest, most explosive player at a position of general weakness is the kind of thing only a rebuilding team would do. The Bears lost that tag long ago. It would be football's version of cutting off your hand because you had a hangnail.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.