CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 10: Quinn Ewers #14 of the Miami Dolphins is chased by Austin Booker #94 of the Chicago Bears during the third quarter of the NFL Preseason 2025 game at Soldier Field on August 10, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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Would the Cowboys really trade Micah Parsons? If so, the Bears are a team to watch.
They have all of the components to make a trade: a highly aggressive general manager (Ryan Poles), a full array of draft picks, just enough cap room and, if their exhibition opener is more than just a tease, a surplus of edge rushers.
Second-year player Austin Booker was a force of nature on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He piled up three sacks, including a strip sack of rookie Quinn Ewers, and got a stop on a third-and-goal from the 1. He also contributed to a Dominique Robinson sack by forcing Zach Wilson out of the pocket.
Booker tied veteran cornerback Tre Flowers and linebackers Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite II with a team-high six tackles in the 24-24 tie. He accounted for four of the Bears’ eight quarterback hits. Head coach Ben Johnson described him as “a menace.”
NFL Network analyst Jim Miller wasn’t surprised. The former Bears quarterback keeps close tabs on Halas Hall, and knows the potential the 22-year-old Booker has shown when given chances to play.
Miller compared him to the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, who has piled up 59 1/2 sacks in six seasons after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. At 6-6, 245 pounds, Booker is built like Crosby. Neither was viewed as a difference-maker entering the NFL.
While Crosby played three seasons at Eastern Michigan, Booker played only 18 games between Minnesota and Kansas. He caught the attention of scouts while getting eight sacks for Lance Leopold’s team in 2023, and Poles was thrilled to land him in the fifth round after focusing on the offense at the top of the draft (Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze and Kiran Amegadjie).
Booker played behind veterans Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker last season, coming off the bench in all 17 games. Miller speculated during Sunday’s broadcast he might have been better off had he stayed at Kansas and entered the 2025 draft and the graders at Pro Football Focus seemed to agree. They ranked him 109th among 119 edge rushers.
Poles released Walker in February and he’s remained unsigned. The move opened up $5.25 million in cap space, which Poles quickly reinvested in 25-year-old edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo, who had eight sacks in 2023 for Indianapolis.
While Odeyingbo had a down season in ’24, PFF still ranked him 54th overall, which was one spot ahead of Sweat. The latter regressed in his second season in Chicago, with his sack total dropping from 12 1/5 (between Washington and Chicago) to 5 1/2.
While Sweat no longer seems to be a dynamic player, he’s solid and offers the financial certainty Jerry Jones wishes he had with Parsons. Sweat, signed to a four-year, $98 million extension when the Bears acquired him midway through ’23, enters his age-29 season with three years left on his contract.
Would Dallas take Sweat in a trade that included the Bears’ 2025 first-rounder among multiple draft picks, possibly including a couple of second-rounders? That could be more attractive than simply amassing draft picks as Jerry Jones seems extremely motivated to bounce back from a 7-10 season in 2024.
It’s hard to imagine Parsons and Sweat fitting on the same team. Sweat carries cap hits of about $25.1 million each of the next three seasons, and Spotrac projects a potential Parsons’ extension to come in at $151 million over four years.
Jones insists Dallas fans “shouldn’t lose any sleep” over negotiations with Parsons, who last week requested a trade. But interested teams are certainly doing their due diligence with only three weeks left before season openers.
Booker’s showing in the exhibition opener seemingly strengthened the Bears’ hand of cards, should Poles get a chance to try to upgrade his defensive line.