Usually, teams at the trade deadline are either buyers (teams in playoff contention looking to fill those few final holes) or sellers (teams out of the race looking to stack draft picks for the future). In the case of Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles, last Tuesday’s trade with the Washington Commanders for the services of edge-rusher Montez Sweat for a 2023 second-round pick left a fraught message — if the 2-6 Bears weren’t going to lock a guy up in his contract year with a new contract, what’s the point?
