If the Bears are going to improve their team — and their offensive line needs an influx of health and skill — they need to do it by 3 p.m. Tuesday. That’s when the clock strikes on the NFL’s trade deadline.
If general manager Ryan Pace elects to make a move, it would likely be to shore up a shaky offensive line. The Bears played most of Sunday’s game without three starters: right tackle Bobby Massie, who hurt his knee against the Saints; center Cody Whitehair, who hurt his calf against the Rams; and left guard James Daniels, who is out for the season with a pec injury.
Pace’s history, though, says the Bears will be quiet. Since the Bears hired him before the 2015 season, he’s made only three trades during the regular season
He’s made one deal at the deadline — in 2017, he sent a conditional pick to the Chargers for receiver Dontrelle Inman.
In 2015, Pace dealt both outside linebacker Jared Allen to the Panthers and inside linebacker Jon Bostic to the Patriots in late September. He got back draft picks.
The Bears have reason to be aggressive this season. They’re 5-3 and stand to benefit from the extra playoff spot afforded each conference starting this season.
If the Bears swing a trade, that player won’t be allowed inside Halas Hall until Monday at the earliest; league intake testing requires five-straight days of negative coronavirus tests followed by a point-of-care negative on Day 6.
