Montez Sweat
Getty
DE Montez Sweat of the Chicago Bears.
Patrick Mannelly doesn’t usually mince words, and that’s part of why his voice still resonates so strongly in Chicago.
The longtime Bears long snapper spent 16 seasons with the team (1998–2013), setting a franchise record with 245 games played before retiring in 2014. He has since built a respected second career as a football analyst.
When Mannelly talks Bears football, his decades of experience give his blunt assessments real weight. That’s why his recent criticism of Chicago’s defense—and specifically of Montez Sweat—feel particularly noteworthy.
“Guys aren’t playing up to their expectations. Guys aren’t paying up to their pay,” Mannelly said during a September 16 appearance on the “Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show,” before singling out Sweat in particular.
Patrick Mannelly Calls Out Montez Sweat: Where’s the ‘Tez Effect?’
Keenan Allen Montez Sweat Bears Injury Report Bears Inactives
GettyBears Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat.
Sweat was supposed to be the guy who took the Bears pass rush to the next level. Chicago made a bold move at the 2023 trade deadline, shipping a second-round pick to Washington to acquire the 6-foot-6 edge. Within days, general manager Ryan Poles doubled down with a four-year, $98 million extension—roughly $24.5 million per year—making Sweat one of the NFL’s highest-paid defensive ends.
At the time, the gamble looked smart: Sweat finished the 2023 season with 12.5 sacks split between Washington (6.5) and Chicago (6.0), earning his first Pro Bowl nod.
But that momentum fizzled. In 2024, Sweat logged just 5.5 sacks across 16 games, along with 32 tackles and 12 quarterback hits.
The Bears DE has yet to record a sack this season.
“Nobody’s playing up to their pay,” Mannelly said. “Montez Sweat, great, he came in and we started, came up with this ‘Tez Effect.’ Where is that? I want to see that. There’s still some one-on-ones he’s not getting. There’s just plays that they’re not finishing. You’re getting paid to win those battles. You’re getting paid to make a difference in the game.”
Sweat Needs to Step Up Now More Than Ever
Montez Sweat has 5.5 sacks over his last 19 games with Chicago.
He’s earning $25M this season, making him the 11th highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/fM38pXZtbM
— Dave (@dave_bfr) September 15, 2025
With starting linebacker T.J. Edwards dealing with a hamstring issue and top cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon out (and the former likely out for the remainder of the year), the Bears need a leader on that defense.
Mannelly thinks that Sweat should be that guy, even though he’s likely getting the bulk of attention from opposing O-lines.
“Is he getting all the attention? Sure. He’s getting a lot of attention, but the great ones still win those (matchups), right?” Mannelly added.
“They know how to get through a chip, they know how to get through a double team, they know how to get to the quarterback. Is it there? I don’t know — I just hope so because right now without Jaylon Johnson, T.J. Edwards, it’s on his shoulders now. He’s got to be the guy to step up to change the game. He’s got to be the guy to get the sacks, the pressures … The team is going to be leaning on him defensively a lot.”
Sweat was brought in to be a tone-setter, and he doesn’t need to just play solid — he needs to finish sacks, create some turnovers and do more to validate the team’s investment in him.