Commanders Send Sweat To Bears, Young To 49ers For Picks

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Washington Commanders defense hasn't proven to be too newsworthy this season, but the team made headlines on Tuesday when it reportedly shipped its most consistent pass rusher out of town before it then traded its book-end defensive end and another former first-round pick.

The Commanders announced they have traded defensive end Montez Sweat to the struggling Chicago Bears. In return, the Commanders will receive a second-round draft pick from Chicago, which, reportedly, had previously been eying Sweat's teammate, Chase Young to bolster its pass rush defense.

In a second move, the Commanders then Young, another former top pick and the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third-round pick, according to multiple reports. Young had registered 15 tackles and five sacks in eight games this season for the Commanders.

Sweat, who has registered 32 tackles, 6 ½ sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles this season for the Commanders, will be a welcome addition to a defense looking for someone to bring added pressure up front and that ranks last in the NFL in sacks. Sweat had been by far Washington's top edge rusher, with Young sidelined with a knee injury before he returned this season.

Sweat is in the final year of his contract and by trading him to the Bears, the team will clear $6.3 million in salary cap space that is linked to Sweat's previous deal. In addition, the Commanders also get some draft capital in exchange for Sweat, rather than taking a chance on what they may have returned if they had allowed him to play out his contract and enter free agency.

Reports suggested the Bears were interested in Young, but there were long-term concerns about the former first-round draft pick’s stability moving forward. That shifted Chicago’s interest to Sweat, a former first-round pick in 2019 out of Mississippi State before Washington ended up trading Young on Tuesday.

Commanders team officials appeared to face a decision on what to do as Young neared the end of his rookie deal. The team previously agreed to re-sign defensive end Daron Payne on a four-year $90 million deal after agreeing to a long-term deal with Jonathan Allen two years ago.

Extending Sweat beyond this year may have proven difficult, which made dealing the 27-year-old to Chicago in a deadline-day deal an easy decision in the long run.