Bears ‘Exploring Trade Options’ for $4.1 Million OL Before Roster Cuts

Content with their offensive line depth, the Chicago Bears are shopping one of their backup guards on the trade market ahead of the NFL cutdown deadline.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Bears are “exploring trade options” for guard Jordan McFadden as they work toward reducing their roster to the 53-man mandate.

“With a logjam at offensive line, the #Bears are exploring trade options for guard Jordan McFadden, per source,” Fowler wrote Monday on X. “McFadden played 124 snaps the last two preseason games and held up well.”

The Bears claimed McFadden, a 2023 fifth-round pick, off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders in February after the Super Bowl and saw him put together a strong training camp in his pursuit of a backup role behind starters Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson.

According to Pro Football Focus, McFadden played the third-most snaps (179) among all NFL guards in the preseason and did not allow defenders to touch his quarterbacks, yielding three pressures but giving up no sacks or hits. He also tied with veteran Ryan Bates as the Bears’ highest-graded offensive lineman (79.8) of the 2025 preseason.

The Bears are unlikely to get much of a return for McFadden if they find a trade partner for him before the 53-man cutdown deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, but they could net a late-round selection if a team wants him badly enough to jump the waiver line.

Is Keeping Jordan McFadden Better Than Trading Him?

The Bears’ decision to shop around McFadden is not a bad impulse. If he does not have a spot on their 53-man roster and they believe he will have interest on waivers, then it makes sense that they would wring a late-round pick out of a desperate team for him.

If McFadden is good enough to draw trade interest, though, it begs the question: Why are the Bears not instead figuring out how to make room for him on their own roster?

The Bears have several roster locks in their offensive line room outside of Thuney and Jackson. Drew Dalman, a $42 million free-agent signing, is locked as their new starting center, while Braxton Jones, Darnell Wright and second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo are all safe to make the team as the core of the Bears’ offensive tackle room for 2025.

That could leave as many as four spots available, though, if the Bears keep 10 linemen.

Bates is a good bet to make the team, given his versatility to play all three interior spots. Sixth-round rookie Luke Newman has also plugged in as the top backup behind Thuney in camp, strengthening his case to win another one of the backup roles for the interior.

The Bears could keep another guard alongside them, but they might prefer to keep two more offensive tackles. Kiran Amegadjie, a 2024 third-round pick, is on the bubble, but his recency as a Day 2 selection could buy him more time to develop. Meanwhile, Theo Benedet — a 2024 UDFA signing — appeared to overtake Amegadjie during camp.

If Amegadjie is out, McFadden might have a shot. With the Bears already shopping him on the trade market, though, he is more likely to lose out during the cutdown instead.

Could Bears Explore Trades With Any Other Players?

McFadden is the only player that insiders have reported the Bears are shopping around ahead of the roster cutdown, but a few more could also make sense as trade candidates.

On offense, the Bears could draw some interest in running back Roschon Johnson. He projects as their No. 2 back behind starter D’Andre Swift for the forthcoming season, but the team is also high on seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai and could push him out of the mix if the new coaching staff isn’t as high on Johnson as the previous one.

Then again, the Bears are unlikely to part ways with Johnson after waiving Ian Wheeler from their roster on Monday — unless they trade to acquire a back before the season.

Defensively, the Bears could kick the tires on trades for one of their defensive tackles. Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter Sr., Andrew Billings and second-round rookie Shemar Turner will likely play the majority of the snaps at the position in 2025, which could prompt the Bears to shop either Chris Williams or Zacch Pickens for low-end returns.