Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ acquisition of defensive end Montez Sweat at the trade deadline this season was a necessary move for a GM with a major pass rush issue. But for the price he paid — a second-round draft pick and a five-year, $98 million contract — it came with some risk.
The 26-year-old Sweat was a productive, but hardly dominant pass rusher in five seasons with the Commanders. He had never had a double-digit sack season. And on a defensive line with three Pro Bowl players — end Chase Young and tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen — Sweat arguably was more the beneficiary than the catalyst. Poles’ description of Sweat as a “multiplier” — a player who makes everyone around him better — seemed like more of a wishful projection than a matter of fact.
