The Chicago Bears traded for Montez Sweat during the 2023 season, sending a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders for the former No. 26 overall selection of the 2019 draft.
Entering his second full season with Chicago, Sweat has put his Commanders days behind him.
Bears DE Montez Sweat Sends Clear Message About Washington Commanders Tenure
Montez Sweat Not Focused on Commanders
Sweat met with the media for the first time this offseason during the second week of Bears OTAs. He acknowledged that he navigated an injury in 2024, though he refrained from specifying what the issue was.
He also admitted that he was disappointed with how last season turned out, both for the team and himself.
However, when asked directly, Sweat said he never compared it to Washington.
He spent four full seasons with the Washington organization, seeing them through their name change and logging the bulk of his sacks with them during his Pro Bowl campaign in 2023. Even with all that happened in 2024, Sweat said he never felt deja vu of his Washington days.
“I don’t think about Washington too much,” Sweat told Clocker Sports on Wednesday. “No, it was never [compared to Washington].”
That is good news for the Bears, if only because of how things ended for the Commanders.
They came out on the other side just fine, but the immediate aftermath following Sweat’s trade saw the team parted out and rebuilt under new leadership. The Bears brought in a new coaching staff, hoping to cut their losses and avoid having to undergo a similar overhaul.
Bears Need Bounce-Back Campaign From Montez Sweat
Sweat had 12.5 sacks during that Pro Bowl campaign, tallying 6.0 after his trade. He had 5.5 sacks in 2024. That is the second-fewest of his career, despite playing in 16 games.
His 32 total tackles were also a career low. That is not the return the Bears were looking for after they signed him to a four-year, $98 million contract extension last season. He has $20.9 million in guaranteed salary for 2025 and another $10 million in 2026, per Over The Cap.
He has been durable. Sweat has missed more than one game in a single season one time in his career, missing seven games in 2021 with Washington.
He also has one season with double-digit sacks.
The Bears need a rebound effort from their marquee acquisition of the 2023 campaign, and the Bears bookended him with Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency this offseason. He also arrives with limited sack production, bearing the hopes of a team that tied for 16th in sacks in 2024.
Odeyingbo had 3.0 sacks in 2024 and set a career high with 8.0 – Sweat’s previous career high – in 2023.
The Bears have 2024 fifth-round pick Austin Booker and could use 2025 second-round rookie Shemar Turner on the edge as well.
Chicago appears to be going for a volume approach, boasting waves of rushers (and interior linemen) rather than featuring one dominant star. That is a path that works so long as the top talent they do have shows up consistently next season, which was not always the case last season.