The Chicago Bears have made a flurry of roster moves in the last month to account for Keenan Allen’s departure and strengthen their receiving corps, but they could still make another — via trade — before the NFL draft begins.
Allen is still unsigned, but his chances of returning to Chicago are limited after the Bears signed contracts with wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay, and Miles Boykin during the first wave of NFL free agency. The Bears will also see veteran D.J. Moore and 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze return for the 2025 season.
Even so, the Bears are building a new system under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, who rose to prominence as an offensive guru in Detroit. That’s why CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin believes the Bears may be a “landing spot” for Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert if Philadelphia attempts to trade him. “Cole Kmet is fairly accomplished at tight end in the Windy City, but he’s also had bouts of inconsistency,” Benjamin said. “Goedert could help compensate for the loss of Keenan Allen. And he may have a backer in the front office, since assistant general manager Ian Cunningham was with the Eagles when Goedert was picked.”
How Much Value Would Dallas Goedert’s Trade Add?
If the Eagles want to trade Goedert (and general manager Howie Roseman was noncommittal when questioned about it recently), the Bears may make a deal given Cunningham’s relationship with him and Johnson’s desire to add additional playmakers.
How much value would a 30-year-old Goedert provide to the Bears? Over his seven seasons with the Eagles, Goedert has 349 receptions for 4,085 yards and 24 touchdowns, and he has proven to be a consistent receiver, finishing with a career-high catch percentage (80.8) in 2024. When healthy, he has the potential to be the top passing target for an offense that deserves numerous targets every game.
The issue is that Goedert struggles with the “when healthy” component. He has only played one full season in his seven-year career (as a rookie in 2018) and has missed 15 games for the Eagles over the last three seasons, which has fueled trade speculation.
The 30-year-old tight end is also quite costly. According to Over the Cap, the Eagles would lose approximately $9.3 million in cap space if they traded him this offseason, leaving an acquiring team with the responsibility of paying him approximately $11.76 million in the final year of his $57 million contract.
In other words, the Bears would likely need to extend Goedert in addition to giving up assets to acquire him in a trade, and that’s far from advisable at this stage in his career.
Bears Are Better Off Targeting a TE in 2025 NFL Draft
The Bears may not have any interest in adding another veteran tight end to their roster in either free agency or through the NFL trade market. After all,
Starter Cole Kmet will return, while the team signed veteran blocking tight end Durham Smythe in March.
The Bears, on the other hand, may still emphasize the position in the 2025 NFL draft if they locate an appropriate candidate who fits the needs of Johnson’s retooled offense. The Bears have four picks in the first three rounds of this month’s draft and may use any of them to supplement their tight end position. They may even consider using their first pick (No. 10 overall) on one of the most formidable prospects in the class, Penn State’s Tyler Warren, a projected first-round pick and polished playmaker.
If the board does not fall in a way that favors a significant swing at the position, the Bears may wait until Day 3 of the draft to target a tight end who is more of a project. They are in a strong position to add a less prestigious tight end on the final day of the draft, such as Georgia’s Ben Yurosek or Clemson’s Jake Briningstool, if they prefer to focus their higher-valued picks on other positions. In either case, the Bears would likely get more long-term value from drafting a young tight end than trading for a veteran like Goedert.
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