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First, the Chicago Bears have to shake off the bad culture. And they took a step in the right direction, according to Caleb Williams. Also, they must add talent. Here are the two best players the Bears must trade for in the 2025 NFL offseason.
Chicago started this season with a 4-2 mark before collapsing with a 10-game losing streak. They finally ended the skid with a 24-22 win over rival Green Bay in the season’s final game. But it became clear that Williams needed help on the offensive side of the football. And the Bears could certainly use a receiver to pair with D.J. Moore.
That’s where we begin our trade talks.
The reason Samuel tops this list is because of his price tag. He’s coming off a poor season, but at age 29 he should still have some miles left on the tread.
Because of that production, and his injury history, it seems unlikely the 49ers will sit pat with him. That’s especially true with the emergence of Ricky Pearsall.
Pro Football Focus said Samuel’s overall metrics dipped.
“Samuel hasn’t enjoyed the success we’re accustomed to seeing, netting a career-low 70.9 PFF overall grade with a career-low 1.60 yards per route run and 8.2 yards after the catch per reception,” Bradley Locker wrote.
Again, this makes his affordable. And he would be a nice fit in Johnson’s wild-west offense that likes to use receivers in different ways. That’s Samuel’s game.
The 49ers head coach said he doesn’t think Samuel has lost a step, according to nbcsports.com.
“I don’t think Deebo’s slowed down,” Shanahan said in December. “(But) I think he got banged up earlier in the year. I thought he had an awesome training camp to where I’d say he didn’t slow down at all. We were real excited going into the year. And I want to say it was Week 2 he got hurt in. I think Week 2 versus Minnesota, he had over 100 yards and then we didn’t get him versus the Rams. It set him back for a few weeks and then when he came back he had pneumonia. He had a rib thing. I think that set him off for like a month where he couldn’t practice as much. When you build up a bunch in camp and then you miss a lot of time in practice it is hard to maintain that stuff.
“But by no means do I think he’s lost it or anything. Then his looks haven’t been quite as good this year, just like for everybody. When the 10 guys around you aren’t doing quite as good, whether it’s him, whether it’s the quarterback, whether it’s O-Line. You’re not going to do as good as you did the year before.”
Another reason the 49ers might be willing to move on from Samuel is the comments he made in early December....
