Micah Parsons could be too costly for the Chicago Bears to Afford on multiple fronts

The Chicago Bears are one week away from kicking off their 2025 preseason, as they will host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Soldier Field. Although eyes have been on new head coach Ben Johnson and his new offensive scheme for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, fans and media have recently changed their focus on Dallas Cowboys’ All-Pro defensive end Micah Parson. Parson and the Cowboys have been in a heated contract dispute that has led Chicago fans clamoring for a potential blockbuster trade, as the Bears do need an additional pass-rusher, but should hold off on attempting an earth-shattering deal.

Trading for Micah Parsons would jeopardize most of the Bears’ assets

On Friday, Micah Parsons set the NFL world on fire when he announced that he was open to requesting a trade, following failed contract negotiations between the Cowboys’ front office and his agent. Parsons, who is on the final year of his rookie deal, has been one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL averaging 13 sacks over his young four-year career. Additionally, the Cowboys’ edge rusher has been named to the Pro Bowl every season he has played and has been named an All-Pro in back-to-back seasons.

With the news of the request, Bears’ social media immediately began discussing why the team should trade for Parsons and what a potential trade package would consist of. Although Micah Parsons would give Chicago’s defense a tremendous boost while also catapulting the team into being an instant Super Bowl contender, the potential price to make a trade and then to re-sign him may be too much for the franchise. As exciting as a blockbuster trade would be, it would jeopardize the Bears’ long-term future for many reasons.

A potential trade package for Micah Parsons would likely consists of multiple first-round selections, along with a potential second-round or multiple mid-round selections. This sort of trade package would handicap a franchise if they don’t have a complete roster, which the Bears don’t have at the moment. If Chicago were to trade for Parsons, they would lose a back-to-back first round selections when the team still has needs at multiple positions, including at running back and safety.

Trading for Parsons would eliminate any chance of the team landing a top-level prospect at positions they need while a new contract-extension would be a record-breaking deal. Re-signing Micah Parsons if he were to be acquired via trade would likely handicap Chicago’s salary-cap flexibility, especially if the team needs to re-sign Williams, which general manager Ryan Poles has been positioning the roster for. Re-signing an elite quarterback and elite pass-rusher could lead to the Bears to losing other top talents, especially at wide receiver and tight end.

When Parsons announced he requested a trade on Friday, fans and analysts immediately compared the trade to the Khalil Mack acquisition the Bears made right before the start of the 2018 season. Similar to Micah Parsons, Mack was seen as the best pass-rusher in the league and once acquired made Chicago an instant playoff contender. However, after 2018, general manager Ryan Pace struggled to address other roster needs via the draft and free agency, as most assets had been exhausted by the trade and the record-breaking contract extension.

The Mack trade made Chicago a playoff contender as they made the playoffs two of the four seasons they had the All-Pro pass-rusher, but they never won a post-season game or a Super Bowl. Having Micah Parsons and Caleb Williams gives the Bears a chance at winning a Super Bowl, but doesn’t guarantee Super Bowl Title, especially if the team can’t win before it comes time to extend their promising young quarterback. If Chicago were to trade for the edge rusher and not win a championship within the next three years, a potential trade would likely be a waste.

Micah Parsons’ availability could help Chicago land another disgruntled pass-rusher

Although trading for Micah Parsons would give the Bears the best chance at winning the Super Bowl now, even with the immense long-term cost, the Cowboys’ All-Pro could help the team land another elite pass-rusher for a lower cost. Similar to Parsons, Bengals’ defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been fighting for a contract-extension also, as he is in a final year of his deal and lead the NFL in sacks in 2024. Hendrickson’s age and desired contract would fit more ideally for the Bears if they were to trade for him, while providing almost identical production compared to the Cowboys’ All-Pro defensive talent.

With Parsons potentially being available via trade, the market for Hendrickson will be watered down as teams will be more enticed to trade for the younger talent, as the Bengals’ pass-rusher is already 30 years old and looking for one last significant deal. Due to Hendrickson’s age, the Bears would likely at most have to part with a second-round selection or multiple mid-round picks in a potential trade, compared to the multiple first-rounders it would cost for Micah Parsons.

Furthermore, where Parsons would likely need to be signed to a record-breaking extension amongst defensive players, Hendrickson would just need to be signed to a deal that has guaranteed money for multiple seasons. This would allow for Poles to sign the Bengals pass-rusher to an extension where the majority of the money is paid before it comes time to extend Williams, which would still give the Bears much-needed salary cap space for other positions. The drop off between Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson would be minimal as both players have average over 13 sacks a year over the past four seasons.

The goal of trading for either Micah Parsons or Trey Hendrickson is to pair an elite pass-rusher with another top-end pass-rusher in Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat. A trade for either Hendrickson or Parsons to couple with Sweat would give Chicago the best pass-rushing duo in the league hands down. The difference between the two players comes down to trade cost and salary cap space, as the Dallas talent would be significantly more expensive in multiple areas compared to the Cincinnati star.

If the Bears roster was just one player away from being a consensus Super Bowl favorite, while having their core talent locked up long-term then it would make all the sense in the world for the team to go all in on Micah Parsons. Given that the team is in a unique situation where the franchise still needs to be cognitive about their long-term draft and salary cap flexibility, a potential trade for Parsons would be too costly. As exciting as it would be for the Bears to trade for arguably the best pass-rusher in the NFL, it is best for the franchise to refrain from mortgaging their long-term future at the moment.