Another busy and tumultuous week for the Chicago Bears has seen a trade for defensive end Montez Sweat, a trade request from cornerback Jaylon Johnson, a second assistant coach leave the staff — and it all started with another blowout loss.

Before the Bears get back on the field Sunday in New Orleans, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs digs deep into the weekly Bears mailbag.

How close are the Bears and Montez Sweat to an extension and why didn’t Ryan Poles have one in place before trading significant draft capital for him? — @wrigleykordt

In a perfect world, the Bears would have finalized a new contract with Sweat before completing the trade with the Washington Commanders on Tuesday. However, a source with knowledge of the situation told me Washington did not grant Sweat’s representation permission to shop for a trade and new contract. That would have made it easier for the Bears and removed an element of risk in the deal. The Commanders also could have increased their asking price beyond a second-round pick had they extended that option.

However, there’s a nuance to this that you need to understand. Teams sometimes hesitate to grant permission for players to seek trades because that can remove their control of the situation. In this instance, the Commanders didn’t allow Sweat’s party to grab the steering wheel, and that left them in position to dictate what they felt was best.

I wrote Tuesday about the gamble associated with the move — the Bears are betting on their ability to get Sweat under contract past this season — and when you consider all of the team’s needs and factors looking ahead to 2024 (both the draft and free agency), the deal makes sense to me. It’s unlikely Sweat would have made it to free agency if the Bears had not traded for him. So it’s not like they could sit back and keep their second-round pick and wait to pursue him as a free agent.

How close the sides are is a good question that I don’t have a great answer for right now.

“I’m sure my agents are talking about it — my agents and them are talking about something,” Sweat said Wednesday at Halas Hall before even finding out where the locker room is. “But I’m not really in any of it right now. I’m just ready to get to work.”

General manager Ryan Poles said he’s “really confident that we can get a deal done.”

Ideally they would reach a deal before Sunday’s game in New Orleans. Is that reasonable? That depends on how the Bears value Sweat and what he’s seeking to be paid. When the Miami Dolphins traded with the Denver Broncos for edge rusher Bradley Chubb during the middle of last season, they got a deal done in two days.

Sweat has leverage in knowing the Bears have to secure him long term to avoid this being a disaster of a midseason rental for a 2-6 team. The Bears know they likely will have to overpay Sweat to make him happy, and Poles no doubt weighed that when considering whether to make the move.

That’s the challenge here. You have to overpay players in free agency, and the Bears have given up a second-round pick and still will have to overpay. They are flush with cap space for 2024 and can make moves to create additional room. If needed, they can put the franchise or transition tag on the table in negotiations with Sweat.

“Obviously a player always wants to have security playing the sport that we’re playing,” Sweat said. “I’m sure everything will work itself out.”

Love the addition of Montez Sweat. Will love it more if/when he’s signed to a new contract. What’s a ballpark for a new contract? — Ron M., Delray Beach, Fla.

That’s a great question that requires some guesswork. As I have written, Sweat has leverage because the Bears have to extend him in order for him to be a building block for their future. The fine details aren’t in yet on the extension the Green Bay Packers hammered out with Rashan Gary, but it has been reported to be $96 million over four seasons. Now, how that money adds up is a big question, but I’d use that as a general range for Sweat and four seasons seems about right.

I texted with Jason Fitzgerald, who runs OverTheCap.com, and asked him for a range for a new deal with Sweat. He thought it would land between $24 million and $26 million annually with a total guarantee between about $65 million and $70 million. Of course, the guarantee would be based on the number of years in the contract.

Could the Bears tag Jaylon Johnson? After the season, how smart of a move would that be? Best to get the deal done, right? — @just_acy

Those are some really good questions and we’ll have to see how this plays out. If Johnson is content to play out the season and bet on himself, he has a chance to maximize his value.

Would Johnson like to see what the open market looks like with potentially multiple bidders for his service?

“One hundred percent,” he said Wednesday with a smile across his face.

You have to respect players willing to bet on themselves, and Johnson seems comfortable with the injury risk for the final nine games. The Bears tried to get the ball moving toward an extension last weekend when they met with Johnson’s agent before the Sunday night game in Los Angeles.

“Not really too focused on (contract negotiations) right now,” Johnson said. “Just want to continue to stack the season. Continue to build my resume best I can and I have some personal goals that I want to achieve, and then from there we’ll figure that out when that time comes. That’s not what I’m interested in right now. I’m trying to win.”

The Bears granted Johnson permission, briefly, to shop for a trade before Tuesday’s deadline, and nothing materialized. Whether that was because no team wanted to meet the Bears’ asking price — one source said they were seeking a late first-round pick in return — or because Johnson didn’t like the terms of a potential contract teams were willing to give him, I don’t know. It’s possible both were true.

It’s also possible the Bears allowed Johnson to shop for a deal to assess his market value. The only way for a player to truly gauge his market value is to become a free agent. Ryan Poles said he granted permission out of respect for Johnson because his side requested it.

My hunch is the Bears would be averse to using the franchise tag on Johnson; it projects to be about $19.5 million for cornerbacks in 2024. I’d say there’s a greater chance they would employ the less popular transition tag, which should come in at a little under $17 million. Those would be last resorts, and I also believe if they had to choose between players to tag, they would lean toward defensive end Montez Sweat if his contract situation remained unresolved.

Johnson has been excellent this season — perhaps the team’s best defensive player through eight games. Part of the reason he has looked so good is opponents have been picking on rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson repeatedly. Stevenson has been targeted 55 times in coverage, tied for third-most in the NFL.

This will come down to how the Bears value Johnson, how they believe young cornerbacks Stevenson and Terell Smith are coming along and what the prospects look like for adding help in free agency and the draft. If Johnson believes he’s worth significantly more than the Bears are willing to pay, perhaps he reaches free agency — the goal of pretty much every player in his situation. Some evaluators I chat with believe he has developed into a top-flight No. 1 cornerback. Some don’t think he’s quite there yet and label him as more of a high No. 2.

It’s not like the Bears have gone against a slew of high-caliber quarterbacks this season. Johnson missed half of the game in Kansas City with a hamstring injury. His interceptions came against Las Vegas Raiders backups Brian Hoyer and Aidan O’Connell. I’m not attempting to diminish anything he has done this year, as it’s important to recognize his improvement from last season. That’s a credit to him and secondary coach Jon Hoke.

“I feel like, for one, I’ve played my best year that I’ve played at the Bears,” Johnson said. “Two, I feel like my impact is greater than it has been. And I mean that I feel like, arguably, I’m the best corner in the game right now. Just going off that and continuing to play at a high level, that’s not going to change. That only increases my value. And it so happens that you strike iron while it’s hot. That’s what it’s about.”

Yes, it would be best if the Bears keep Johnson. We won’t know the chances of that until we get a clearer picture of where each side stands. The Bears have had ample dialogue with agent Chris Ellison, and a lot of football remains to be played.

“I don’t want to lose Jaylon Johnson,” Poles said Wednesday. “If I were to lose Jaylon Johnson, I would like to have a high percentage of hitting on another Jaylon Johnson, which to me is a late first- and into early second-(round pick). Really simple there. That (trade) didn’t happen.

“We are still open to getting a contract done. I know we’re going to follow Jaylon’s lead on how he wants to go about doing that, but we’re still open.”

Multiple reports that Montez Sweat wanted to go to Atlanta and that Ryan Poles did not work out an understanding for an extension prior to the trade. What have you heard and does this cast shadows on Poles’ management of the roster? — @xsubco

I was told by multiple sources, shortly after news of the deal spread Tuesday, that Sweat indeed hoped to be traded to the Falcons. He played high school football in Stone Mountain, Ga., about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta. As I detailed above, Poles did not have permission to negotiate with Sweat before the trade. That would have been tampering, which can lead to serious penalties. I don’t think this casts a shadow on the move or his roster management at all. He has to do what is best for his team, and the Bears will have an opportunity to make Sweat very happy to call Halas Hall home.

“My agent told me (Atlanta) was in the (trade) talks,” Sweat said. “I’m actually from Georgia; it was a place of interest. It’s the NFL. Obviously they wanted me here more. This is where I am.”

If Sweat was bummed out, he seems to have rebounded just fine. And while he has to adjust to a new city and new team, I think the Bears understand what it will take to make him very happy to be a part of the organization.

What’s your take on David Walker’s dismissal with the Bears? Doesn’t sound good if it’s true the human resources department was involved in this. — @mred315

It’s a shame the Bears couldn’t keep the focus Wednesday on the acquisition of Montez Sweat and instead had coach Matt Eberflus spending the majority of his media availability fielding questions about Walker’s firing as running backs coach and the status of the organization less than two months after defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned over conduct-related issues. One thing is apparent: The Bears HR department has gotten way too much press this season. That’s never a good thing.

“As the head coach, we are building a program and have standards to uphold to as a staff and organization both on and off the field, and those standards were not met,” Eberflus said. “It’s disappointing from my vantage point. But we have a standard to uphold to. When that standard is not met, we act accordingly and that’s what we did.”

Eberflus was asked if the Bears have a culture issue, and if you’re a regular reader of the mailbag, you know how I feel about that subject. “Culture” is one of those corporate words that gets thrown around in football, usually for teams trying to climb out of losing ways. As I have written, the Kansas City Chiefs led the NFL in culture last season because they walked away from the Super Bowl carrying the Lombardi Trophy. The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles were the runner-up in the culture standings.

Everyone understands the Bears are trying to build something, and that’s where I can understand the desire to establish a way of going about things. But ultimately you are what your record says you are, not what your culture meter reads.

“The culture in our building is outstanding,” Eberflus said. “The guys work hard every single day. The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned. We’re 2-2 in our last four. One game was real close, we had a chance at that one. We really feel we’re turning the corner there, and we are excited about this week. But to answer your question, our culture is awesome.”

Unfortunately their record isn’t awesome, and at the end of the season, it would be understandable if Eberflus has to answer for the team’s performance as well as issues on a coaching staff he selected in a business where the buck stops with the head coach.

With the Bears acquiring Montez Sweat, does the defensive end position become strengthened, in turn potentially enabling the team to draft other positions as a priority? — @livingsuccess24

The Bears are better at defensive end, but with Sweat and DeMarcus Walker the projected starters next season, it’s still nowhere near what the team wants. Look at what the San Francisco 49ers have on their defensive line. Take a look at the waves of talented players the Philadelphia Eagles have had up front the last couple of seasons. Sweat is a nice start, but the Bears have to continue to accumulate talent to win in the trenches. This has to be a priority.

Why would a rebuilding team still at the bottom of the league trade valuable draft capital for any player? Especially after the same actions hurt them in the draft last year. — @barbersquires

I give credit to Ryan Poles for not allowing the mistake he made last year in trading for wide receiver Chase Claypool affect his thinking in this situation. The easy move would have been to stand pat at 2-6 and wait until the offseason to begin addressing needs on both sides of the ball.

The Bears made the move because Montez Sweat was highly unlikely to make it to free agency. So sit back and watch another team retain his services and consider other options in free agency? Or make a move now and then take the necessary steps to keep Sweat in place? Sure, a high second-round pick is valuable draft capital, but the Bears can potentially recoup some by trading down with one of their first-round picks or trading Justin Fields if they plan to select a quarterback.

Danielle Hunter likely will reach free agency unless the Minnesota Vikings can re-sign him. They can’t use a tag to keep him. He would stand out as an elite free agent with multiple bidders if he remains healthy for the remainder of the season. After that, there will be a huge drop-off in free-agent edge rushers. Maybe the Bears will take a swing at Hunter. But I don’t think the next-best edge rusher available will be as good as Sweat.

What are the chances Ryan Poles was having a side conversation with Montez Sweat’s agent on an extension in principle before pulling the trigger? — @mightyquinn72

Highly unlikely as that would constitute tampering. However, it’s safe to say Poles has a good relationship with Sweat’s agent, Demarius Bilbo, and that likely will help in hammering out a contract extension.

Montez Sweat for a good second-round pick. Chase Young for a bad third. How? — @dmorr80

I’m not sure there’s such a thing as a “bad” third-round pick, but you’re referring to the high second-round pick the Commanders will receive for Sweat as opposed to the supplemental pick the 49ers sent to Washington for Young. It could wind up a difference of roughly 65 selections, and that’s considerable. The first thing I would say is the Bears don’t own what looks to be a late third-round pick the 49ers gave up. They would have had to counter with a high fourth-round pick.

More importantly, you need to understand the Bears received the better player of the two in the estimation of evaluators I spoke with. There are questions about the stability of Young’s right knee after he missed 1 1/2 seasons with a torn ACL and ruptured patellar tendon. This wasn’t a standard ACL recovery, so he heads to San Francisco with medical questions. Moreover, there are football character questions about Young, and some have characterized his departure from Washington as “addition by subtraction.”

Yes, Young was the No. 2 pick in 2020 and the defensive rookie of the year and has greater name recognition, but the Bears got the better player by paying more.

Do you expect Matt Eberflus to bookend Montez Sweat and Yannick Ngakoue? — Marc B., Nashville, Tenn.

That’s a good question and we’ll get a good idea Sunday in New Orleans against a Saints team that has been average protecting quarterback Derek Carr. They rank 16th in sacks per pass attempt at 6.91%, and 11 of Carr’s 19 sacks have come in the last three games.

The addition of Sweat should allow the Bears to reshuffle things a little bit. How quickly that happens remains to be seen. They need to get him up to speed with the scheme, but it’s relatively easy at that position. My initial thought is this will allow the Bears to reduce Ngakoue’s snap count and utilize him in clear passing situations in the sub package. DeMarcus Walker is a traditional 4-3 left end with the versatility to play both sides. I think having Sweat and Walker on the field on base downs is the best move.

On passing downs, Walker can kick inside, where he’s more effective as a pass rusher. The hope has to be Sweat’s presence can help Ngakoue have more success. He has been stagnant the last few weeks, and I would imagine future opponents will be more concerned with Sweat.

One factor you have to consider here is Sweat was a member of a stacked defensive front in Washington, one of four first-round draft picks. He had great success lining up next to Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen and running games with them. The Bears don’t have the same caliber of interior defenders, so it’s probably not realistic to think Sweat can be plugged in and have the same level of production right away.

I’d look at Sweat as a building block for the defensive front with the Bears hoping rookie tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens can develop.

When are we going to see Justin Fields back on the field? — Jimmy N., Northwest Side

It will be interesting to see if Fields can return on a short week for the Bears’ Thursday night game against the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 9 at Soldier Field. The Bears held an actual practice before their Thursday game at Washington last month, and if they get back on the practice fields next week at Halas Hall, it will be an opportunity to see where Fields is in his healing from a dislocated right thumb.

Some have suggested the Bears have been coy with Fields’ status, and I don’t necessarily buy that. They’re less than forthcoming about nearly all injury issues, so you have to try to read between the lines and lean on other information. This wasn’t a one- or two-week injury.

I called former Bears quarterback Jim Miller to ask about his experience with a thumb injury. Miller suffered a broken right thumb as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s a different injury but the same body part, so there are commonalities in the recovery.

“I had to tape it for a while,” Miller said. “To get the strength back in it, you’re doing a lot of Silly Putty, rice buckets, things like that to get the strength back in the thumb. I had to put a little tape around the knuckle and then I taped it around my hand, but I was able to throw with how I taped it.

“It’s a legit injury and the recovery took some time and the grip strength … that’s why I had to tape it to make sure it was stable and I could get a grip on the football. That’s his livelihood.”

If Fields isn’t cleared in time to face the Panthers, I would think chances are good he’s ready for the Week 11 game on Nov. 19 in Detroit.

There is a lot of talk about the Bears having one or both of the top two picks. We know how crazy the NFL is, so I’m curious your thoughts on what happens if the Bears end up without the top pick? Best player available? — Kevin

I believe the Bears will use their first pick to select a quarterback. Right now, the top choices would be USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and I recently did a deep dive into each of them, speaking extensively with evaluators across the league. You can’t rule out other options such as Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, but I would focus on the first two for the time being.

After that, the Bears will have a wealth of options. Some will suggest they trade down and add draft capital. I’m of the mind that this roster needs difference makers, elite players who can make huge plays when games are on the line. That’s what the Bears are missing right now. They have one player on offense — wide receiver DJ Moore — who can do that. They might have two on defense who can start to do that: defensive end Montez Sweat and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. They need a bunch more.

So I like the idea of staying put with the second of their picks or a modest trade down — they need to stay in the top 10 — to get a player they feel can be elite at almost any position.

After each futile loss, Bears players say things like “we didn’t play up to our standards.” Unfortunately, with each loss they are playing up to their standards. They simply have a huge talent gap from most NFL teams. I see little to suggest this gap is closing, even with big signings such as Tremaine Edmunds. Do you see it differently? — Jim A., Plymouth, Minn.

No question they have a talent issue, and that’s why the margin for error is so slim. Coaches and players bemoaned some of the penalties that set the Bears back in Sunday’s 30-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. They had seven penalties for 53 yards, and one was an iffy 15-yard call on Velus Jones for fair-catch interference. Even counting that one, that should not be insurmountable.

But the Bears struggle to generate explosive plays on offense when they are not getting the ball to DJ Moore, they can’t rush the quarterback and they really get in a hole when they lose the turnover battle. They lack clear defensive difference makers, and that’s why they splurged to sign Edmunds and swung a trade this week for Montez Sweat.

The feeling in the building is the team has slowly accumulated a layer of base starters — guys who can be successful rank-and-file players — and now the roster needs to be boosted with better talent. That process takes time, and I would expect the Bears to be active in every imaginable way to improve the roster in the offseason, when they will be flush with salary-cap space and will own two high first-round picks. You’re not wrong in your assessment.

Is Dominique Robinson’s time with the Bears about to end? Between being a healthy scratch last week and Ryan Poles trading for Montez Sweat, it’s not looking too good for him. He has been invisible since his first game as a Bear. Thoughts? — Chris R.

I don’t know if Robinson’s time with the Bears is coming to an end right away, but he’s certainly at the bottom of the depth chart and probably would need some attrition in front of him to get back in the mix. Some folks have asked why he’s still on the roster, and my reaction is who are you going to replace him with. It’s not like there are twitchy, productive edge rushers on the street just waiting for their phones to ring.

Robinson hasn’t made the developmental strides the team hoped to see in his second season. He has to improve if he wants a shot to stick.

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