Ryan Poles has the prime opportunity to kick the tires on a previous trade target that he can now land at a much cheaper discount
If the Chicago Bears general manager is still interested in Matt Judon, now is the time to strike.
Despite winning four consecutive games and the belief starting to change inside the Chicago Bears building, the idea of the Bears going big-game hunting at the trade deadline still seems like a decision that could backfire on the long-term planning process.
Yet, the Bears still have some clear needs on the roster worth addressing, and the big one is finding more help off the edge. Granted, the team just put up a four-sack performance in Week 7; two of those sacks came off blitzes by two defensive backs.
Edge is still something the Bears could look to improve ahead of the deadline, and if general manager Ryan Poles wants to kick the tires on a former trade target, now would be the time.
Trade interest in Matt Judon should start to pick up following Week 7
Leading up to the 2024 season, the Bears were pursuing some help off the edge to complement Montez Sweat. That search nearly led to Chicago trading for veteran defensive end Matthew Judon, previously with the New England Patriots.
However, Poles ultimately weighed the cost and opted out of the decision, as shown during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” that was in the building that summer.
“I don’t want to get the club in a position where we have a player that’s here, we’ve given up a draft pick, and we haven’t had a resolution on a contract,” Poles explained on the show.
Judon was eventually traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round draft pick, and the two sides never reached a contract resolution, as Poles feared, leading to Judon hitting free agency. In August of 2025, Judon signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Judon appeared in each of the first six games with the Dolphins as a reserve player off the edge. But in Week 7, Judon was a healthy scratch. That’s usually a sign the team is willing to part ways with the player this time of year, especially a struggling team like Miami.
The likely trade for Judon would be a sixth/seventh pick swap, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. A price Poles might now be willing to pay without fear of giving up too much for a one-year mercenary off the edge.
I stayed pretty consistent that no trade would happen in Chicago until the staff saw what they had in second-year Austin Booker, who’s still working his way back from the injured reserve. Booker had his 21-day practice window opened on Oct. 7. Yet, Booker was held out of each of the last two games since returning to practice.
If Booker isn’t activated to the roster by the end of those 21 days, he will revert to the injured reserve for the remainder of the season. And with the trade deadline not till Nov. 4, that would give the Bears plenty of time to have more clarity at the position.
As it stands, Judon seems like a low-risk maneuver for Poles to pull off in hopes of getting Judon back to 2022 form when he totaled 15.5 sacks. It’s just something to keep an eye on.
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