Expand / Collapse search
☰

Chicago Bears trade a draft pick for EDGE Darrell Taylor after preseason finale, release 2 players

By
Updated  August 23, 2024 12:13pm CDT
Bears
FOX 32 Chicago

Should the Bears sign another pass rusher? Anthony Herron breaks it down

The Bears have Montez Sweat, an Pro Bowl pass rusher who anchors the pass rush, but what about opposite Sweat? Anthony Herron breaks down if the Bears should pursue another pass rusher before Week 1.

After trying to trade for Matt Judon, the Chicago Bears made a trade for a pass rusher.

Less than a day after the preseason finale 34-21 win over Kansas City, the Bears announced they have traded a sixth-round pick in 2025 to Seattle for pass rusher Darrell Taylor.

A second-round pick in the 2020 draft, Taylor, 27, has 21.5 sacks in 49 career games. 

"It's exciting for us to get him," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on the Bernstein & Holmes Show Friday afternoon. "He's got sack production, a really good pass rusher. He fits our scheme in terms of his effort, his style, his disposition."

Along with the trade announcement, the Bears announced they've released defensive end Khalid Kareem and wide receiver Freddie Swain.

The Bears were fully in on adding a pass rusher, something Hard Knocks confirmed when they captured scenes of Bears' general manager Ryan Poles settling on a third-round pick in exchange for Judon, but now Poles lands another pass rusher instead.

Taylor comes to the Bears after a 2023 season where he recorded 5.5 sacks. In 2022, Taylor had 9.5 sacks.

In 49 career games, Taylor has started 13 games. He's also got the production to show in those games. Taylor has recorded 28 run stops, five forced fumbles, 34 quarterback hits and 22 tackles for loss in those 49 games, too.

The Bears own three sixth-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. They have their own, the Miami Dolphins' sixth-round pick they acquired in a trade for receiver Chase Claypool and the Steelers' sixth-round pick they acquired in a trade for Justin Fields. The pick acquired for Fields could conditionally become a fourth-round pick, meaning there's a good chance the Bears did not trade that pick.

It has not been reported which of the two picks the Bears sent to Seattle in the trade.

The Bears were adamant they were confident in the pass rushing room they had throughout training camp and the preseason after drafting Austin Booker and having Montez Sweat locked up.

"I feel really good about where we are with (Austin Booker), (DeMarcus Walker) and (Dominique Robinson)," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on Aug. 20. "All those guys that are in that other spot. Those guys have different skill sets they bring to the table and those guys play really hard. The first thing with defensive line play is having a good motor. Those guys have really improved and have done a really good job of that."

However, Taylor adds depth and production to a unit the team needed both traits at, and added it at a relatively cheap price.

Taylor was set to play on a one-year "prove it" deal in Seattle after the Seahawks signed him to an extension this past offseason.

The Seahawks re-signed Taylor to a one-year deal worth up to $3.136 million, according to The Seattle Times. The Times noted the Seahawks gave Taylor a little more money to avoid hitting free agency, as well as a $20,000 bonus. The rest of Taylor's $3.116 million salary is not guaranteed, however, but there's a chance he could earn that money playing opposite Sweat and alongside Walker, Booker, Gervon Dexter Sr. and Andrew Billings.