Bears Attempted to Trade for $54 Million DT, Came Up Short: Report
· Yahoo Sports
The Chicago Bears are more interested in beefing up the interior of the defensive line than adding a rush-first defensive end, which team brass has made clear on multiple occasions this offseason.
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Most recently, Chicago took a one-year flyer on injury-prone DE Marcus Davenport to fill out a unit that lacks an accomplished edge-rusher opposite Montez Sweat. However, the team was in on trade talks for defensive tackle Vita Vea before he inked a massive new extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday, August 19.
The #Bears and #Bills were among the teams with interest in trading for Vita Vea, but the #Bucs never wanted to move him, per sources.
The deal is now done and Vea is under contract in total for 2 years, $54M. https://t.co/KY07p8GYyn
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 19, 2026
“The #Bears and #Bills were among the teams with interest in trading for Vita Vea, but the #Bucs never wanted to move him, per sources,” Jordan Schultz reported via X. “The deal is now done and Vea is under contract in total for 2 years, $54M.”
Dealing for Vea would have certainly meant a multi-year investment from the Bears in the two-time Pro Bowler who is heading into his age-31 campaign. It also would have almost certainly cost Chicago at least a second-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft, if not a first, after the New York Giants flipped DT Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 selection this year.
The willingness of the Bears to spend that kind of draft capital and agree to an extension for an interior defender in his early 30s speaks volumes about what the coaching staff values most with regards to an underperforming front-seven that was near the bottom of the league both against the run and in key pass-rush categories.
It also offers a harbinger for how Bears brass is likely to move forward, either ahead of the early November trade deadline or next offseason, with regards to bolstering its lackluster defensive front.
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