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Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
The Chicago Bears have a few more moves to make before the start of the 2026 NFL draft next month to clear the necessary cap space to sign their draft picks, but could one of those moves include trading away a young defensive starter?
According to Over the Cap, the Bears have the least amount of cap space ($243,078) in the league as of March 25 after making several signings in the first wave of free agency, meaning they must clear several million more to afford signing their 2026 draft class and handle some of their in-season expenses, such as signing their practice squad.
While the Bears have options for clearing space — including extensions and restructures — Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton floated another idea that would clear $3.67 million for them: trading starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to another corner-needy team.
Specifically, Moton projected a Stevenson trade between the Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, who traded away superstar cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason and have a clear need at the position ahead of the 2026 draft.
“Because of those key departures, the Chiefs’ cornerback room needs help. Kansas City may be able to land Tyrique Stevenson in a deal with the Chicago Bears,” Moton wrote March 24. “Stevenson is entering the final year of his rookie deal. So, the Bears could consider trading the talented cover man if they don’t plan to sign him to an extension before he hits free agency in 2027.”
Has Tyrique Stevenson’s Time in Chicago Run Its Course
Stevenson is entering a make-or-break season for the Bears in 2026 with just one year left on his rookie contract and a turbulent first three seasons behind him with the team. Is Chicago willing to prematurely send him packing for a bit of cap relief, though?
Stevenson tallied career-low numbers in interceptions (one), pass breakups (10) and total tackles (49) and missed a career-high four games due to injury during the 2025 season. The injuries to Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon also forced Stevenson to play extended snaps on the perimeter, where opposing passers routinely picked on him.
Pro Football Focus even graded Stevenson as one of 2025’s worst perimeter corners.
From a mentality standpoint, Stevenson seems to understand that he has disappointed. He even took responsibility for his shortcomings over the past two seasons after initially looking like a promising long-term cornerback during his standout rookie year in 2023.
This (expletive) here about to be dangerous,” Stevenson said in a recent Instagram reel. “I’m telling you. I’m coming back for everything. The last two years, I put that on me. This year, this (expletive) for my son. I promise you. I promise you.”
Fortunately for Stevenson, the Bears’ offseason strategy — so far — indicates that he will have one more shot at earning his keep in Chicago. The team allowed Nahshon Wright to walk for a relatively affordable deal in free agency and didn’t sign any significant new talent at cornerback, clearing the way for Stevenson to compete again as a starter.
Of course, things could always get more interesting during the 2026 NFL draft in April.
Bears Could Draft New Cornerback Regardless of Trade
Right now, Stevenson seems well-positioned to compete for the No. 2 perimeter corner job opposite Johnson in 2026. Gordon will presumably return to his role in the nickel, leaving Terell Smith (2023 fifth-rounder) and Zah Frazier (2025 fifth-rounder) — who both missed the entire 2025 season — as his primary competition for the starting job.
If the Bears prioritize landing a new starting cornerback in the 2026 draft, though, Stevenson could find himself on shakier ground heading into his next training camp.
The Bears have greater needs for defensive linemen (both interior and edge rushers), safeties and linebackers in the 2026 draft, but cornerback is also an underrated need for them, given both their lack of depth and the injury concerns for their top veterans. They struggled tremendously without Johnson and Gordon in 2025 and cannot afford to trust Stevenson, Smith and Frazier as their only contingencies heading into 2026.
If the Bears do invest one of their seven draft picks into a new cornerback, though, it would not necessarily mean that Stevenson’s time in Chicago has reached its end — although, a first-round investment in the position would put the writing on the wall.
The best-case scenario for the Bears is to keep Stevenson and bring at least one more rookie cornerback into the fold to create a four-way competition between him, Smith, Frazier and the newbie — unless, of course, a too-good-to-ignore trade offer come in.